Accidents
by Puzzler
Summary: When a NASA missile test flight goes seriously wrong, one of the Tracy brothers is injured while attempting a rescue and presumed dead. As the family and the world mourn, they discover that not everything is as they had first thought. Please R&R. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1 Testing the Equipment

Accidents

Summary

When a NASA test flight goes seriously wrong, one of the Tracy brothers is injured while attempting a rescue and presumed dead. As the family and the world mourn, they discover that not everything is as they had first thought…

Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

A/N

THIS STORY IS BASED ON THE PUPPET SERIES, NOT THE FILM (I thought I had better say that first).

This story is based on an idea that I had some time ago, but have only just got round to writing down. There are some serious injuries to character/s, so be warned. Sorry if it starts slowly, but I have to give all the background to the story before we get to the action.

All ages/birthdays/other info etc, are taken from 'The Complete Book of Thunderbirds' by Chris Bentley, so I'm sorry if you don't agree with them.

All info about the crafts etc. (especially Thunderbird 5) comes from 'Thunderbirds FAB Cross-sections' by Graham Bleathman, so I'm sorry again if you don't agree with the details.

This story is set before Grandma joined, so she is not living on Tracy Island at this point.

P.S – Lines of show a change in time or place (or both) and thoughts/flashbacks are in _italics_.

Review if you have any CREATIVE comments about the story, no flames please.

Accidents

Chapter 1 – Testing the Equipment

"Calling International Rescue, Calling International Rescue, this is NASA Control, please come in" the voice blared over the speakers, startling John Tracy out of his thoughts. He had been in the middle of a good book and was about to go to bed, but duty calls. Besides, if NASA were calling for their help, it had to be important.

"NASA Control, this is International Rescue. What's up?" John answered quickly, stifling a yawn

"Ah, sorry to disturb you, but nothing is 'up'" the same voice replied "We at NASA Control are very gracious to you for what you have done for us and the rest of the world and we have a proposition you might be interested in" the voice said cryptically

"Alright, I'm listening"

* * *

"Here we are folks, the moment you've all been waiting for" A tall, dark blonde reporter announced to thousands of live viewers at home "I'm Lindsey Acclebourne and I'm standing in the Control centre of NASA headquarters, eagerly awaiting news of the upcoming launch of the new, experimental T-42 missile. With me is Colonel Nigel Roberts, head of the T-42 team, and hopefully he'll give us some more information." Lindsey turned to a tall, almost black haired man standing beside her "Well Colonel, can you tell us how this missile launch come to be such big news around the world?"

"I certainly can, and it is most definitely a good story. It all started just over 3 weeks ago, when the directors of NASA were trying to decide how exactly to monitor the test of the T-42 missile, as the yield we are expecting the missile to have and the distance it would have to be away from Earth would be beyond the computers here at NASA Control."

"Then how did you get around this problem?" Lindsey asked

"After some time, one of the younger members of the board of directors suggested that International Rescue might be willing to use the sensors on their incredible space craft to monitor the progress of the T-42 missile. This seemed to be the best option and we suggested it to them. On a recent rescue mission, however, International Rescue's space craft, Thunderbird 3, had suffered serious damage and has been grounded for repairs for some time."

"Then International Rescue were not able to help…?" Lindsey started, but the Colonel interrupted her.

"Oh no, quite the opposite in fact. International Rescue themselves offered another solution, which with certain precautions, they would be willing to do."

"And what was this?"

"International Rescue has agreed to monitor the T-42 missile using equipment on their communications satellite, Thunderbird 5. With numerous safety precautions put in place for their secrecy, and assurances that everything to do with the launch would be recorded live for audiences around the world, the operation is now ready to proceed."

"Well, I certainly am glad to be here, Colonel, but may I ask why International Rescue insisted on a worldwide audience for this event. Surely this would be even more of a risk to them."

"It was a concern, but I believe that they wanted the whole world to see this as it would allow everyone to be involved in some way and, in the past, most breakthroughs to do with space travel have been broadcast to worldwide audiences." Colonel Roberts was clearly expressing his own opinion on the subject, as International Rescue hadn't actually given a reason. "It has been rather hectic around here, but we have finally reached the day of the launch." He added

"Yes we have." Lindsey said happily "Thank you for your time Colonel" she directed her attention back to all the television viewers "Well, there you are, the story behind this incredible launch. If all goes well, and the link-ups to Thunderbird 5 and the International Rescue base are successful, I should be able to show you live footage from this command centre in only a few hours time. This is Lindsey Acclebourne, standing by for more information" The recording stopped and the television screen went on to adverts, before quickly being turned off.

"Well, she made it sound easy" Scott said sarcastically as he went back to his seat on the bed next to Gordon. He, Gordon, Virgil and Alan had been watching the broadcast in Scott's bedroom to see how the media was seeing this, and also because they had just had rather a talking to from Jeff about getting in the way of them working all the time.

"Yeah, she sure wouldn't be saying that if she was here" Virgil added "From the way Dad, John and Brains have been acting recently, it seems they're having a hard time trying to get this link-up in place. I wish they would let us help them." the other three nodded, as they were getting rather bored just sitting around

"And John got the short straw." Alan said "If he needs to do any work up there, he's on his own. Thunderbird 3 is still out of action"

"How are the repairs going, by the way?" Gordon asked, gratefully changing the subject

"Slowly" Alan moaned "According to Brains, Scott and I were lucky to get back at all, and it is taking time to get the right parts from the suppliers to replace the main thrusters from that meteor hit"

"I thought we already had spares for all the main parts of the craft" Virgil said vaguely.

"We do, that's the problem" Alan looked at his brothers' confused faces before explaining "They're all up in Thunderbird 5, and we can't get to them"

"Great."

* * *

"We're nearly finished John, only got one more set of connections to make and it'll be ready" Brains said, wiping his forehead with his hand and only making himself more dirty

"Finally, it's taken long enough. I thought you said this was going to be a relatively easy modification" John replied through the communication link to Thunderbird 5, sounding absolutely exhausted and looking even worse.

"It is a relatively easy modification" Brains said defensively

"Oh, come on Brains. We've been at this, almost constantly, for nearly 2 weeks. That doesn't sound easy to me" John complained sarcastically. Brains' response was cut off when Jeff walked into the room.

"How's it going?" he asked, ignoring John's last remark that he had just about heard from the doorway.

"We're nearly finished" Brains said, receiving a glare from John "Give us a few minutes and we'll be ready to test it"

"Right. I'll go get the boys and have Virgil ready to take it over to NASA when you're finished" Jeff said, walking back towards the door. John, rather grudgingly, went back to work on the extra equipment

10 minutes later saw Brains and John setting up to test the modified equipment, with the rest of the family watching from well out of the way. If this didn't work, then the test flight of the missile would be a lot more difficult to monitor.

"Right, activate it from your end once we have cut transmission. We need to make sure it works independently of Thunderbird 5's other communication systems" Brains explained to John.

"F.A.B" is all John said, before disappearing from the screen.

About 30 seconds later, the device that was sitting in the middle of the lounge floor began to produce a fuzzy picture, and soon John and a complicated-looking bank of computer consoles were projected onto the screen.

"Well done, International Rescue is now ready to go" Jeff said, pleased. "Virgil, I want you and Brains to take the link-up over to NASA Control and show them how it works. John, can you make sure everything is ready up there."

"Yes Dad" John said tiredly

"Oh, and John" Jeff added, amused, and John looked at him "Have a shower and get some sleep while you're at it, you need it." Everyone in the room smiled, John definitely looked as if he needed the break.

"F.A.B Dad, see you later."

* * *

Getting the link-up technology over to NASA Control and installed around their other equipment had actually taken a lot longer than expected, so it was almost seven hours later before they were set up and ready to test it.

"Phew, finally, I thought we'd never be finished" Virgil exclaimed, standing up and stretching. He, Brains and a few NASA technicians had just finished getting the link-up ready and now they were waiting to see if it would still work. "You ready Brains?"

"Just about, Virgil" Brains replied, putting the tools back in his toolbox. The other technicians were also packing away their equipment. Virgil lifted his watch and activated the communicator.

"Base and Thunderbird 5 from Virgil, we're ready"

"That's good to hear" came Jeff's relieved voice "As soon as John is ready, we'll test it"

"I'm ready now" John piped in quickly "Once we close this channel, I'll activate the link to base, check that is working properly, and then try the link-up to NASA as well."

"F.A.B John, standing by" Virgil said as he closed the channel and waited. A couple of agonisingly long minutes later, a fuzzy picture appeared on the screen and they could hear John's voice asking if it was working.

"We've got a picture John, but it's rather distorted. Try boosting the power" Brains suggested.

"That better?" John asked

"Much" Virgil replied, "It looks like we're in business" Scott, who they could see on the left half of the screen (John and Thunderbird 5 on the right) also nodded. Colonel Roberts, who had been standing well out of their way, signalled to reporter Lindsey Acclebourne that the link-up was complete. Her cameraman activated the live feed to the rest of the world.

"Hello again" she started, "This is Lindsey Acclebourne, reporting once again from the Control Centre at NASA Headquarters. The link-ups to International Rescue's base and Thunderbird 5 have just been established and the countdown for launch is a mere hour away. I'll be here, giving you all the latest news on this event as it comes in. Don't go away."

However, unknown to everyone else involved, there was another person eagerly watching the events unfolding at NASA Control. Yet this person's intentions were far more sinister…

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2 Successful Missile Launch

Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

I don't usually answer reviews, but as I got 4 reviews so quickly I thought that I would for once.

RaeTucker, zeilfanaat and killhill2003 – I'm glad you like it, here is the next chapter.

white rose01 – The film is actually quite good, but I still prefer the puppets, that's all

Sorry that this chapter is so short, but if I didn't end it there I would have to finish it in the middle of the rescue, and that really would be a cliff-hanger!

Next chapter – The Rescue (the real action starts!)

Accidents

Chapter 2 – Successful Missile Launch

"Right, we'd better be going. Good luck" Virgil said genuinely, while shaking Colonel Roberts' hand. He and Brains needed to head back to base before the missile was launched to co-ordinate the combined effort

"Thank you, for everything you've done" Colonel Roberts said, before reaching behind him and pulling out a large bottle of champagne "A number of people here at NASA Control thought that we needed some way to thank you, and someone suggested this, so here you are." He handed the bottle to Virgil.

"This really isn't necessary…" Virgil started, but stopped when the look on the Colonel's face told him he wasn't going to take no for an answer "I'll make sure that everyone at base gets some" The Colonel nodded and Virgil and Brains headed towards the door leading to where Thunderbird 2 had been 'parked'.

The Colonel shook his head again, amazed "They really are an incredible bunch of people."

* * *

"Five…Four…Three…Two…One…Launch!" an automated voice blared over the speakers 

"Missile away, speed climbing to escape velocity" a technician reported from his console

"Good, how does it look from up there?" Colonel Roberts asked John

"It looks good" John replied "Lift-off was successful and the missile is on course to detonation co-ordinates."

"Right, detonation in 3 and 1 half minutes from now" another technician added

"Okay, John. We'll give you a 30 second warning before detonation, so you can cover your eyes" Roberts said jokily

"You really think it will be that bright" Reporter Acclebourne asked amazed from the back of the control centre, clearly not seeing the joke.

"Oh, it will be Miss Acclebourne, it will be"

* * *

"30 seconds to missile detonation, 25…" a technician counted down to them detonating the test warhead on the missile. Colonel Roberts already had his finger on the button to send the remote signal and was anxiously watching the timer on the console wind down. 15 seconds…12…10. 

"Detonation systems activating, all controls are go" the timer hit zero and a finger hit a large red button.

Although there was no way for the personnel in the control centre to hear the explosion, everyone in the room listened and watched impatiently to the telemetry coming from Thunderbird 5.

"Phew, that was some blast" John said after a few seconds "Readings coming in now, but from the way it looks so far, it was very good for a first attempt"

"Send the readings down here as soon as you can. Also, do you think you could get us a picture, I'm sure the viewers at home would love to see it."

"Sure, coming up"

"Well done, fellers, we did it." Roberts congratulated the other men (and women!) in the control centre for a job well done. "As soon as we've been through these readings we should be ready for a second test flight" there was a loud round of applause at this, before everyone slowly went back to work.

* * *

_Well, that certainly made my day more interesting_, John thought to himself while going over the scans he was transmitting down to NASA. They didn't all seem that important, but he was sure that someone knew what they were doing. Something odd caught his eye and he had to look over the information again. _Odd, I don't remember them saying anything about that in the specifications._

* * *

"Why didn't it work, what went wrong?!" an angry voice yelled at another, almost quivering, figure. _He is far from the easiest person to deal with at the best of times_, the man thought hopelessly 

"I…I…we don't know, master. We think it was in the control system we installed, our scientists are modifying it now" the small man said hesitantly

"Well, you'd better hope it works next time, or you may find yourself out of a job" the angry voice threatened darkly. "Now go!" the small man nodded and quickly backed away from his 'master'.

"Yes, you'd better hope it works, for I will not tolerate my plans being delayed for much longer."

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3 An Unexpected Rescue

Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

Accidents

Chapter 3 – An Unexpected Rescue

"Are we ready to go again?" Colonel Roberts asked the busy Control room. The information transmitted to them by Thunderbird 5 had been very helpful and it had taken some time to get through it all.

"Almost sir. Launch Control is performing final checks on the missile and should be finished in a few minutes." A technician replied after listening to a message through a radio. "They are asking if the flight plan for this test is the same as the previous one" he looked up at the Colonel

"The missile will be headed 3 degrees to the north of the previous heading to avoid turbulence that has been detected in the atmosphere, but other than that, everything will be the same. Let's just hope that it goes as well as last time too."

"Right sir."

* * *

"Seems like they're getting ready for another attempt. If it goes as well as the last, they'll definitely have something to celebrate." John said over the link to base. The link to NASA had been put on standby for the moment until the launch preparations were complete.

"Celebrate, that reminds me." Virgil said, remembering "NASA Control gave us a bottle of champagne to share between us as a thank you for the help. Why don't we make a toast?"

"That's a great idea. Tin Tin, can you go and get some glasses while I round up Brains and Kyrano. They deserve to have some too."

"Yes Mr Tracy" Tin Tin said as she and Jeff left the lounge

"Dad agreeing to everyone having champagne. That sounds unusual." John said, amazed that Jeff had agreed.

"Don't worry John, you won't be left out" Scott remarked. John glared at him, but thought of a better idea

"I'll think I'll go and get a soft drink from the fridge. That way, we can all be involved." John disappeared out of the side of the screen.

"I don't know about this Mr Tracy, I don't usually drink…" Brains was cut off by Jeff

"Come on, just this once. You don't have to have much, just enough for a toast"

"Oh, all right"

"Here we are, 8 glasses." Tin Tin said as she came back in carrying a tray of glasses and a corkscrew. She put them down on Jeff's desk.

"Would you like to do the honours Virgil?" Jeff asked, handing him the corkscrew

"Why not" he said, and soon there was a loud pop as he pulled out the cork, then poured some in each glass.

"To…comrades, working together to achieve something special" Jeff said, raising his glass as everyone else did the same

"To comrades" they all echoed and drank from their glasses, except for Brains who only took the tiniest sip and John, who had a can of soft drink in his hand instead. He wasn't allowed to have alcohol on Thunderbird 5.

* * *

"Five…Four…Three…Two…One…Launch!" the same automated voice blared

"Missile away, speed climbing to escape velocity" a technician reported from his console

"It looks good" John said, before the Colonel had a chance to ask "Lift-off is again successful and the missile is now headed to detonation co-ordinates."

"Right, detonation in 3 and 1 half minutes from now" another technician added

"Okay, John. We'll give you a 30 second warning before detonation again" Roberts repeated what he had said earlier that day

* * *

"Sir, something's wrong" a technician said after a few minutes "The missile is veering off course, heading further south instead"

"Confirmed, the missile has changed its heading. It now appears to be on a collision course with a space satellite, 80 miles south-east of its original heading" Colonel Roberts shared a worried look with John and Scott on the screen, John also furiously tapping away at controls, before ordering what could be their only course of action

"Detonate the missile" he ordered the technician at the console beside him. They waited a few seconds, but nothing seemed to happen.

"Missile failing to detonate. We do not appear to be in control of its main operating systems any longer" the technician said sadly

"Jettison the warhead, it should stop it causing so much damage"

"Done. But that's about all we can do."

"I've just run a check" John said quickly, and stopping whatever Colonel Roberts was about to say "the satellite is a manned television relay station, 4 personnel on board. This missile looks to be on a direct collision course with it."

"John" Jeff's voice came from somewhere behind Scott on Tracy Island "Get contact with the station, see if they are able to move out of the way."

"F.A.B"

* * *

"International Rescue calling Television Relay Station 16, come in please" John's voice came through the radio on the control panel. The men, all of whom were looking rather bored, jumped up at the sound.

"Hey, that's us. Answer it will you Casey" one of them said, surprised

"Yeah, right." The one called Casey said. He went over to the radio and fumbled with the switch "International Rescue, this is Television Relay Station 16. Is something wrong?"

"I'm afraid there is, but I haven't got time to explain. How long would it take for you to move your station into a different orbit?" John asked, getting straight down to business.

"Err, I dunno." There was a faint voice from elsewhere in the station "Our mechanic is saying an hour, hour and a half at most." Casey said, trying to help.

"Right, thank you." John said hesitantly. That was far too long!

"I hope that helps. Station 16 out." Casey cut the channel, and looked towards the others in the cramped station "He didn't sound too happy, did he?"

* * *

"They said an hour, minimum" John relayed to NASA and base. There was a long silence after this statement, until Scott spoke up quietly

"And how long before the missile hits the station?" he asked, dreading the answer.

"5 and a half minutes"

* * *

"There has to be something we can do!" Gordon complained loudly, echoing what everyone else was thinking. The first space rescue in almost 4 months, and Thunderbird 3 is out of action.

"Brains, is there anything I can do to stop the missile? It is reasonably close to my position." John asked desperately, needing an answer and needing it fast.

"There could be one possibility, but it would take some very quick modifying, and it may not even succeed." Brains said thoughtfully

"Right now, I'm open to anything."

* * *

"Right that's the plan. John thinks it will take him about 3 minutes to modify the equipment, and about 30 seconds to charge the laser system itself. It's a wild shot, but it's the only plan we have." Scott explained to NASA Control while John modified the laser system. They, quite literally, didn't have a moment to lose.

"That leaves only about a minute for the rescue (they had been discussing the plan for about a minute as well). I hope your man's a good shot, because he's only going to get one chance at this. Good Luck." Colonel Roberts said from the now deathly silent Control room.

* * *

_Modifying a space signalling laser-beam system, usually used to maintain Thunderbird 5's orbit, to knock out a missile's control systems has got to be one of the oddest rescues I've ever done._ John thought to himself, while retrieving yet another tool from his toolbox and putting a wire back in place in the computer panel he was working on. _I just hope Brains' idea works._

As he put the panel back on the wall, he activated the comlink in his watch. He was using his watch as there was no way he would have time to go backwards and forwards to the communications console and finish the modifications in time "Right Scott, I've finished. I'm starting to charge the laser now"

"Great time John. I'll tell the others. Colonel Roberts says good luck" Scott said, happy to know that the rescue was halfway there.

"Yeah, hopefully I won't need it. I'm preparing to fire now."

* * *

"John says he's getting ready to fire" Scott said briefly to NASA Control. Some of the worry immediately disappeared from Colonel Roberts' face

"Right, we've all got our fingers crossed down here. I hope it works"

"Okay. Firing!" Came John's voice over the speakers. Everyone held their breath as they waited to see if it had worked.

"He's done it!" one of the technicians cried out happily a few moments later "The missile's course has changed!" there was a cheer as they knew the 4 men in the station had been saved. John came onto the screen, but he didn't look too pleased.

"Base, we've got another problem" John said quietly. Scott just looked confused

"What's wrong John? It worked! The missile is no longer going to hit the relay station." Scott said, calming down when he saw that it wasn't really cheering John up at all.

"Oh yes, it did change the missile's course. I hit it dead on. But not only did it affect the missile's control systems, but it also acted like a homing beacon…" John closed and opened his eyes, before looking straight at Scott and carrying on "The missile is now on a direct collision course with…Thunderbird 5."

TBC…


	4. Chapter 4 Mayday

Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

Answers to reviews:

Zeilfanaat – Thanks for the compliment

Jenihenpen – Don't worry, John's my favourite character too. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to throw him about a bit!

All reviewers – Here's the next chapter for you!

Accidents

Chapter 4 – Mayday

"How long before it hits?" Scott asked hesitantly once he had gotten over the shock of what John had just said. John looked down at a console

"1 minute"

* * *

"Are you sure there is nothing we can do to stop that missile?" Colonel Roberts demanded, not wanting to hear that some of their equipment would be responsible for damaging one of the Thunderbirds craft, or even killing one of them.

"Certain sir" the technician said sadly "the laser beam destroyed all control over the missile that we had left"

"I presume you heard that, International Rescue" the Colonel said to Scott and John on the screen "I'm afraid there is nothing we can do"

"Thanks for trying anyway" John said, slightly distracted as he tried to think of something, anything to stop the missile. He wasn't really doing it for himself, although he didn't want to die, but he was doing it for all the people in danger that International Rescue wouldn't be able to help if Thunderbird 5 was destroyed. They wouldn't even know they were in danger. That was something that John didn't even want to think about.

"We should be the ones thanking you. You're only in this mess because you tried to help us out…" the Colonel was feeling very guilty about this whole situation

"Hey, it's what we do. I don't blame you for anything" John said quickly, trying to stop the Colonel blaming himself. "As far as we know, all this was caused by a simple technical malfunction. It wasn't anyone's fault."

* * *

"Hello again viewers" Lindsey Acclebourne started, but not feeling as cheerful as she sounded. It had taken some time for her to get permission to report what was going on, as she had argued that the world deserved to know. "International Rescue has successfully managed to save the 4 people on board the Television satellite, but it seems that by doing so they have put Thunderbird 5 and the person manning her in great danger. At their request, I will not be reporting any more on this situation, but will hopefully be able to get you some more information soon. We wish them the best of luck to stop the missile before it hits…" She stopped, not wanting to continue "So its goodbye from me…"

* * *

"John, I want you to get into one of the escape pods, now!" Jeff ordered, knowing that he might not survive if he stayed.

"But I can't…" John started, but Jeff stopped him firmly

"I know you don't want to abandon the station, but we have no time to…" Jeff was also interrupted.

"No, you don't understand. Even if I burned the escape pod's engines beyond safety limits, there is just no way that it would be able to get out of the range of the missile blast in time." John explained quickly "It would be even more dangerous in the escape pod. I'm safer staying on Thunderbird 5."

"Then…what do we do now?" Virgil asked quietly. It seemed that they were out of options.

"There is nothing we can do" Scott said, looking sadly at John on the screen. The only option left was to wait and hope that John could survive the blast

* * *

"Its no good, we're out of time" John heard Colonel Roberts say quietly through the link-up to Earth as he walked through the airlock to the secondary command centre, making sure all internal airlocks were closed as he went. As the missile had gotten closer, he had been able to tell where the ship would be hit (somewhere near the main control room and medical bay), and try to avoid being in that section. _Now I just hope that it doesn't hit the main antenna as it passes, or that really could cause some damage to the hull_, John thought bitterly, _and it would make it far more difficult for a rescue_, he added in his mind. He looked at his watch, knowing that it was pointless to make a mayday call but he was going to anyway. _20 seconds, 15…_

* * *

"Thunderbird 5 to base, Mayday! Mayday!" John's voice echoed through the speakers at Tracy Island and NASA Control, along with the sound of a rather large explosion only seconds later.

John was sent flying across the control room from the force of the blast, several pieces of debris from the walls and floor being knocked loose at the same time. The lights went out and the station was thrown into darkness. To try to slow down and avoid a hard landing, John reached up with his left hand to grab one of the railings built into the ceiling for when the artificial gravity went offline. Unfortunately, at the same time as he did this, a large, and rather sharp, chunk of floor debris flew towards him. He tried to move out of the way, but the piece of shrapnel hit him hard on the left elbow and forearm, causing his fingers to be forced backwards and he lost his grip on the ceiling rail.

He landed on a bank of computer consoles on the opposite side of the room, and then slid uncomfortably to the floor. The pieces of debris landed on and around him, and the last thing John felt before he lost consciousness was a solid computer panel hitting his right shin and snapping the bone.

Everything suddenly went deathly silent…

* * *

However, none of what happened to John was known by those watching the link-ups, as when the missile hit the main antenna as it passed and then communications consoles in the main control room, the link-ups frazzled out and the screens went blank, cutting off even Tracy Island from talking to Thunderbird 5.

* * *

"John!" Several different voices cried out as they heard the sound of the missile hitting Thunderbird 5 and then the screen going blank. Immediately, Jeff tried to find out if they still had contact.

"Tracy Island to Thunderbird 5, come in." Jeff said, but the only answer was static "John, if you can hear me, please respond." Still nothing.

"It won't work Mr Tracy" Brains said quietly. "The…signal isn't reaching Thunderbird 5. The missile must have hit the antennas and…" Brains was cut off by the sound of someone thumping another computer panel in the room

"No!" Scott cried out softly, leaning heavily against the wall beside the panel he had just read from (and hit!). Everyone in the room looked at him

"What is it Scott?" Jeff asked nervously, dreading the answer. Scott tried to pull himself together

"I just checked the bio-transmitter reading from John's watch…" Scott started, really not wanting to be the one to say this "…negative reading." There was a long silence before Virgil stood up, not willing to just sit around and do nothing any longer.

"Then we have to get up there! We have to see for ourselves if…" Virgil trailed off. None of them actually wanted to admit he was dead, even though their technology seemed to be telling them that he was.

"We can't" Brains replied sorrowfully "Thunderbird 3 is still badly damaged"

"But what about spare parts. I thought we had made sure that we had spares for all the Thunderbird craft" Jeff demanded

"Well, we do but…" Brains replied hesitantly "…but…they're up on Thunderbird 5"

"What?! Why?!" Jeff yelled, loosing control of his emotions entirely "Why are they up there?! My son is dying up there simply because we can't get at the parts we need to save him! We're supposed to be rescuers, how can we rescue people if we're stuck here on the ground?!" Jeff then collapsed into his chair, completely drained. His sons looked at each other nervously, Jeff rarely ever lost his temper, but this situation had tried everyone's nerves to the limits.

"How long will it be before we get all the parts from the suppliers, Brains?" Tin Tin asked, trying to calm everyone in the room down

"Err…eight days, absolute minimum"

"Eight days! John will probably be dead by then!"

* * *

"NASA Control to International Rescue base, come in please" a technician said calmly, before turning to Colonel Roberts. "It's no good sir. We've lost the link."

"Then I guess they're on their own."

* * *

"Lady Penelope calling International Rescue base, come in Jeff" The soft English voice startled Jeff out of his thoughts. He quickly hit the answer button, but wasn't sure if he wanted to talk to anyone at the moment. Lady Penelope's concerned face appeared on the screen seconds later. "Jeff, I saw the television broadcast. Is John alright?" She quickly realised that he couldn't be by the look on Jeff's face

"Oh, hello Penny." Jeff swallowed, and then started to tell Penelope what they knew. "To be honest, we don't know exactly what has happened. We've lost contact with Thunderbird 5. Brains is in his lab trying to regain contact and find out how bad the damage is as we speak." Jeff actually felt slightly better now that he had told somebody

"I'm sorry to hear that Jeff. Is there anything I can do?"

"Just hope for the best, Penny. Its all any of us can do right now."

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5 Not Quite As It Seems…

Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

A/N - sorry if this chapter is a bit boring compared to the others, but there will be some more action soon, I promise!

Accidents

Chapter 5 – Not Quite As It Seems…

"I want you to go through all the pre-flight checks that were done on that missile. Find out why this malfunction occurred, and to make sure that it can never happen again. Do you understand?" Colonel Roberts said very quickly to the technicians that were still in the command centre "Who was in charge of the missile assembly and checks?" he asked one of the men as an afterthought

"Sergeant Dannir, sir"

"Get him up here as soon as possible." _He should know if there was anything odd or not working as it should have done_, he added to himself

* * *

"I gave you that device to sabotage the NASA missile so that it would bring International Rescue onto the scene, but I never imagined that it would hit the Thunderbird in space itself. It worked even better than I had hoped." The man smiled, an evil-looking smile that made him look even worse "What of the other task I gave you" The evil man asked, switching subjects.

"It has also been taken care of" The smaller man said confidently.

"Did they suspect anything?"

"Nothing. They all thought that it was a wonderful idea."

"Good, you have done well" The 'Master' signalled that the other could leave by a wave of his hand.

The smaller man quickly left, eager to be away from the other man.

"Yes" the man said quietly once the other was out of earshot, looking at a frozen image on the screen of the computer consoles aboard Thunderbird 5 just before it had been hit and thinking about all the other plans he had set into motion "Very well indeed."

* * *

"You called me up here, sir." A young, dark-skinned man asked Colonel Roberts as he walked out of the lift and into the Command centre.

"Ah, yes, Sergeant Dannir. You were in charge of the checks on the T-42 missiles, were you not?" Colonel Roberts asked, leading the other man into his office

"Yes sir."

"Did you notice anything out of the ordinary during the checks, or the pre-flight tests?"

"Nothing sir. Everything appeared normal, but you would need to speak to the rest of the pre-flight team to be sure, sir." Sergeant Dannir added

"Then that's what we'll do. Please, lead the way Sergeant"

* * *

"Is this your whole team?"

"I think so…no, hang on, there is someone missing. Where is Technician Braddick?" he asked no one in particular

"He was here this morning, but to be honest sir, I don't think I have seen him since the launch checks" another man answered

"Who is this Braddick?"

"He has been working here for a couple of weeks now, and seemed very eager to work on the T-42 project, but now that you mention it, I don't really know much about him at all."

"What was he working on?"

"He was in charge of the checks for the missile's guidance system. He knew what he was doing, so he was the only technician assigned to that section." Dannir replied, realising how suspicious this sounded.

"Do you have an address for him?"

"Yes, I think so. I'll have a look through the files to see if I can find anything else on him at the same time." Sergeant Dannir said helpfully, before disappearing into an office.

* * *

"Sir" Dannir said as he came back. "It appears that we don't have an address for him, or anything else for that matter. It seems that the records have been erased"

"Erased? That is very suspicious. Are you sure that no information survived." Roberts asked, quickly realising that this Braddick had to be the saboteur they were looking for.

"Certain sir, the record is just gone."

"Is it possible that Braddick could have somehow sabotaged the missile, without anyone noticing?"

"I guess so, but we need to find someone who knows him a bit better to be sure."

"Do you know if he has any family? Someone that we could talk to." Roberts asked, this could finally be the break they had been looking for.

"I don't know, but I do vaguely remember a conversation the team and I had, including Braddick, at lunch about a week ago. Somehow we got talking about where we were from and I think he said his family were from Malaysia, or somewhere like that anyway."

"Well, if that's all we have to go on, it'll have to do. Thank you Sergeant" Colonel Roberts left and went back to his office. When he was alone, he said to himself "Now if I could just get hold of International Rescue. They deserve to know what really went on with that missile."

* * *

"Mr Tracy, I think I have…" Brains started

"Ah, Brains. Please tell me you have good news about Thunderbird 5" Jeff almost begged

"Well, not really. I have managed to create a partial link, through the specific-frequency antenna linking Thunderbird 5 to here, to what is left of the computer systems on board, but it is very unstable. I don't know how long it will last" Brains explained

"Can you get us a damage report?" Gordon asked, having heard Brains talking with his father while he was on the balcony

"I already have, but it doesn't look good. Maybe I should tell everyone at once" he suggested. Jeff quickly sent Gordon to fetch his brothers, while Brains went to find Kyrano and Tin Tin.

"Alright Brains, tell us" Jeff said, when everyone had got to the lounge

"Yes. Well, life support and artificial gravity appear to be unaffected, and it seems that John must have closed all the internal airlocks before it hit…" everyone breathed a sigh of relief "But the main control room is open to space, as well as several of the rooms below it."

"Where was John when it hit?" Scott asked hesitantly

"We have no way of knowing"

"Right, Brains, I want you to try to get us a view into Thunderbird 5 through one of the monitors, I don't care how you do it." Jeff ordered "But as soon as those parts come in, I want Thunderbird 3 ready to launch as soon as possible"

"F.A.B Mr Tracy" Brains said, and then left the room to go back to his lab.

"What shall we do father?" Alan asked. Jeff didn't know what to say, so was glad when Kyrano answered for him

"Don't lose hope. John will be alright, as will all of you" Everyone looked to Kyrano, surprised, but knew that he was right. They couldn't give up hope.

* * *

The next day:

"Mr Tracy, I think I can get you that visual link you wanted" Brains said as he walked into the lounge, where the family were still sitting. "I can put it through to here if you want."

"Please, we need some good news" Jeff muttered. After a few minutes of him tinkering away at the console behind Jeff's desk, John's screen turned into a fuzzy picture. The interference disappeared for about a second before the screen went blank once more.

"What happened? Did we get a picture?" Virgil demanded

"Yes, but the connection to Thunderbird 5 is lost. I can't get it back" Brains said "I'll see if the screen managed to record the image." Moments later, the screen was filled with a still image of a damaged computer console in the secondary control room of Thunderbird 5. But it wasn't the bank of computers in the background that held everyone's attention, but rather the figure lying on the floor in front of them.

"John" Jeff gasped quietly. John was lying on his back, partially hidden under pieces of debris, and resting his side against the panel behind him. His left arm was stretched awkwardly out to his side and a large piece of metal was lying across his right leg. His blue uniform and lilac-coloured sash was stained with dirt and blood, and it wasn't clear from the picture if he was even still alive.

"I'm sorry Mr Tracy, but that's the best I can do. Thunderbird 5 is just too damaged." Brains said softly as the image left the screen and was replaced by John's portrait. Yet everyone knew that that picture would haunt their dreams for some time.

* * *

2 days later:

"Hi Virgil, Gordon. You couldn't sleep either, huh?" Scott asked groggily as he walked into the lounge carrying a cup of coffee and seeing two of his brothers sitting on the sofa, also with coffee. He sat down beside them

"Hi Scott. I think the only reason Alan isn't here too is because he's exhausted himself trying to get Thunderbird 3 ready for the new parts. Come to think of it, weren't you helping them?" Gordon asked

"I was, until Brains snapped at me for getting in the way all the time. He's been rather on edge the last few days."

"Who hasn't" Virgil muttered "I don't think I've seen dad this worked up since mum died. I don't know what he'd do if…"

"Don't even think about it Virgil. We'll get him back, somehow."

"Yeah, but will we be in time. You saw the photo, we don't even know if he's alive. We may have to accept that he might not be coming back." Gordon was cut off by a glare from Scott

"No Gordon, I won't accept it. We'll get him back, we just have to!"

TBC…

A/N 2 - There, that should give you something to think about. And if anyone has any ideas as to what the 'other task' the bad guy set it is, I would be happy to hear them. Let's see if anyone can get it right!


	6. Chapter 6 Memories

Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

A/N

Most of this chapter is taken up by a flashback, so I'm sorry if it's rather boring to read. I wasn't intending it to be quite as long as it is but when I started writing it, I realised that I couldn't really make it any shorter – it even goes on into chapter 7! Well, one good thing, John is finally going to wake up in this chapter. Hope you like!

I'm also sorry that it took me soooooo long to write this chapter, but the next is already partly written so it shouldn't be as long a wait next time.

I was looking through my notes for this story, and I think it will have about 12 chapters in all, possibly more. So there's still a lot more going to happen!

Accidents

Chapter 6 – Memories

_What happened? Where am I?_ John thought groggily, trying to remember what happened before he blacked out. _Why am I lying…? Ahhhhh!_ John immediately regretted trying to move his arms and then found that practically everywhere hurt. He lay there for a few seconds before the memories came back to him. _Oh, no, the missile! I have to get word to the others, but I think I have to get up first._ He added sarcastically.__

Slowly, and very painfully, John attempted to sit up. He quickly realised that his left arm was rather useless, as a sharp fragment had broken off of the larger piece of shrapnel when it had hit John and was now embedded in his left forearm and wrist. As it had also hit his watch-face, it effectively cut off the only way that anyone on Tracy Island had to know that he was still alive, as the bio-transmitter inside it had been destroyed. _There's no way I can remove that on my own,_ he thought. _This is going to be difficult._

After a few agonising minutes, when John knew that his arm and a headache were far from his only problems, he managed to pull himself up and lean against the computer bank behind him. He had limped part way across the room before he had to grab the wall with his right hand to stop himself collapsing again. Forcing down the wave of pain that spread over him, he realised he would have to see to his own injuries first.

* * *

"Any progress?" Jeff called as Brains walked slowly into the lounge, where the whole family were sitting, not really knowing what to do. Tin Tin had taken her father exploring in the caverns under the Island, knowing that the family needed some time together for a while.

"Well, I was going over the information I got from Thunderbird 5's computers, I recorded all of it in case we could find some way to help him."

"Well, what did you find?" Scott demanded. Brains nervously looked down at the floor, not wanting to answer.

"What is it?" Jeff urged

"I found that the…the computer systems controlling the environmental settings on board Thunderbird 5 were damaged in the explosion. They were…gradually building towards an overload and…" Brains explained hesitantly

"How much damage could it cause?" Alan interrupted. Everyone had now gathered around Brains, dreading what he might say next.

"It could knock out all the life support systems on the ship…and there's no way I can stop it." Brains practically whispered

"How long?"

"By my calculations…3 hours from now."

* * *

"You remember that time when John tried to break up one of our arguments, and ran off when he thought we didn't appreciate him." Scott asked his brothers, trying to cheer them up a bit, by remembering happier times. Since Brains' 'announcement', everyone had just been sitting around with their own thoughts, but Scott knew that the only way they were all going to get through this was with each other's help.

"You mean that time around 10 years ago? You're right, he really got the wrong idea about that didn't he?" Gordon said, laughing hollowly, glad of the change of subject.

"Well, it wasn't funny then. Dad wasn't too happy when he found out" Scott explained, realising he had found a way to pull his brothers out of their depression.

"Yeah, I know, but at least it turned out alright in the end" Alan added

"What happened. I don't remember being there." Brains asked. The only person to have left the room since the announcement was Jeff, and Brains had a sneaky suspicion as to where he had gone.

"Oh, it was before you came to the island. Well, it was during the October holiday, not long after John's 14th birthday. You remember the way that John always tried to break up arguments between us, to stop anyone getting hurt and stuff. Well, Virgil, Gordon and I were having a bit of a…disagreement…" Scott started to explain

_– Start Flashback –_

_"What did you do that for Virgil? It isn't yours!" 11-year-old Gordon shouted, grabbing the book off the table next to him and throwing it. 13-year-old Virgil ducked, but unfortunately it hit 15-year-old Scott, who was sitting on the sofa behind trying to stay out of the argument, but really agreeing with Virgil. "Oops. Sorry Scott." Gordon muttered_

_"Too late Gordon. He won't believe you" Virgil mumbled, knowing that Scott hadn't believed Gordon when he had tried to tell their father earlier._

_"Why you little…" Scott started at Gordon about the book. Within a few minutes, the argument was completely out of hand and the three of them were very close to coming to blows_

_"What the heck is going on in here?!" John asked incredulously as he walked in, dropping the book he had been reading on one of the chairs before trying to break it up "Come on you three. I'm sure there's some other way to sort…"_

_"Stay out of this John, you don't know what you're talking about." Scott snapped_

_"I'm trying to…"_

_"This is between us John, so we'll sort it out on our own. Stop meddling in things that aren't your business" Virgil shouted. Both Scott and Virgil were rather angry, and so they didn't notice the effect their words had on their brother._

_"But Virgil…" John tried yet again_

_"Go away John!" Scott said, pushing him towards the door, before ducking a blow from Gordon who had finally lost control and decided to try to hit his older brothers. John could feel tears coming to his eyes, but although he knew that his brothers wouldn't normally say anything like that, he walked off in a huff. Scott, Virgil and Gordon, still engrossed in their fight, didn't notice him leave._

_John ran down the steps and out of the house, careful to avoid the swimming pool and the windows from their father's office as he didn't want to be seen. He ran into the rocky area to the right of the Tracy villa, not really seeing where he was going but just trying to get as far away as possible. By the time he finally stopped, about 10 minutes later, he found himself in a small alcove in the side of a steep, rocky hill. He had a clear view of the beach and Tracy villa, which is what had drawn him to the place several years earlier. He had found it when he had gone exploring soon after they had first move to the island after his mother's death. It was somewhere where he knew he could be alone with his own thoughts, and he had made sure that he kept the place a secret from his family._

_Right now, he felt that he needed to be alone to think, and he knew no one would find him there._

_"I bet they haven't even noticed I'm not there" John muttered sadly to himself. "They never do. That's the problem with being the quiet, reliable one. Everyone just relies on you all the time, but it's as if I'm not even there half the time…" John had been feeling left out for a while now, especially at school, and even though his heart was telling him that his brothers and father would never think like that, he couldn't shake the feelings that they didn't love him._

_After nearly an hour of berating himself and his family, John finally curled up and fell asleep, covering his tear-stained face with his hand to block out the late afternoon sun._

* * *

_"Dad, have you seen John? He said he was going to meet us for a swim earlier and he never showed up." 10-year-old Alan asked his father as he walked into the house from the pool with Tin Tin. It was beginning to get dark, so the two of them had decided to come in for something to eat. Kyrano, who had been in the garden for several hours, was now in the kitchen starting to make tea._

_"No Alan, I haven't. I've been rather busy." Jeff replied tiredly. He had been interrupted from his work when he had heard the argument earlier, and it had taken him nearly an hour to get Scott, Virgil and Gordon to tell him what had happened. He wasn't too happy at having lost the time._

_"Oh well. I'll see if I can find him. I'll be back in a minute." Alan said, walking out into the hallway_

* * *

_"I can't seem to find him anywhere." Alan said as he came back in 10 minutes later "I've been all around the villa"_

_"He'll come in if he's hungry." Jeff said reassuringly. He knew that John would come in eventually so he wasn't really worried._

* * *

_2 hours later – after tea_

_"I'm beginning to get worried now dad. Where the heck is he?" Alan asked, looking out the window. It was dark now and raining slightly_

_"I don't know. Are you sure you haven't seen him?" Jeff asked everyone_

_"I think I may have seen him earlier…" Virgil started_

_"Oh, yeah." Gordon gasped. Scott looked between the two of them for a moment, confused._

_"Oh no." Everyone looked at Scott when he said this "I'm sorry father, but I think we may have rather snapped at him, and he may not have taken it too well." Scott admitted, finally realising what they had said to him in their argument_

_"What do you mean?" Jeff asked, concerned._

_"That's just it, we didn't mean it." Virgil carried on quickly "But we weren't exactly thinking straight at the time."_

_"That's quite an understatement." Jeff muttered "I want you to search the grounds around the house to find him and…" Scott and Virgil both got up to head to the door, but turned around at the tone in Jeff's voice. "Boys, apologise." He continued simply_

_"Yes father." They said together_

_"What shall we do father?" Gordon asked_

_"We wait. If Scott and Virgil don't find him, we'll all go out and look." Jeff said finally_

_

* * *

_

_Meanwhile, the rain echoing in the caves around him had woken John up. He stretches and just sits there looking up at the stars, somewhat surprised he had slept for so long. He knows he should be getting back, but doesn't want to face everyone's questions as to where he has been. Finally, he decides to stay where he is for the moment, and just to enjoy the view of the sea and the stars._

* * *

_"We've been all the way round the house twice father, and we still can't find him." Virgil complained. Neither of them had bothered with coats when they left, but it was now raining heavily and they had both got rather wet coming back inside. In fact, it was the only reason they had stopped looking._

_"Besides, it's so dark out there you can't see a thing anyway," Scott added, taking the towel Kyrano handed him. Obviously, he had seen the pair come in._

_"Right, this is what we do." Jeff started. "It doesn't look like it's going to stop raining, so we'll have to go out now, but with coats this time." He looked suspiciously at Scott and Virgil. "Kyrano, can you go and get 5 torches and walkie-talkies from the cupboard. Scott, go to the medical room and grab a first aid kit and some blankets, we may need them." The two of them nodded and left. "Now, let's go and grab some waterproof clothing" he said to Virgil, Gordon and Alan, who left to go to their rooms._

* * *

_"It's really raining now, I'd better get back" John muttered, looking around him for anything that could keep him dry. Unfortunately, everything outside was already soaked, and he hadn't brought anything with him. "I hope I can find my way back down. I can hardly see a thing."_

_John carefully started climbing back down the steep side of the hill, having to feel for the next ledge rather than seeing it. Accidentally, he put his foot down on some wet moss growing between the rocks, causing him to lose his balance slightly and hold on with his hands only. The extra weight on the not entirely stable ledge was too much, making it shift suddenly downwards and John lost his grip entirely, falling about a metre to the ledge below. He landed hard on his feet, causing them to twist beneath him and he collapsed, the impact of his head against the rock face causing him to fall unconscious almost immediately._

_– End flashback –_

"Don't stop there Scott. What happened next?" Brains asked when Scott stopped talking. The other brothers, although they knew what happened, were also listening intently and were as annoyed at Scott's 'cliff-hanger'.

"Sorry guys, but I need to get something to eat. I'm starving."

TBC…


	7. Chapter 7 Attempting Repairs

Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

Accidents

Chapter 7 – Attempting Repairs

_– Start Flashback –_

_"OK boys. Are we ready?" Jeff asked, looking at four of his sons while they stood just inside the door, sheltering from the rain. Each of them, including Jeff, had a torch and a walkie-talkie each, so no one else would get lost. "Scott, Virgil, you two head east, but don't go on the rocks unless you have to, they could be slippery. Gordon, Alan, you go west and check out the forest area. I'll go towards the shore and check there. If you find anything, or anything goes wrong, I want you to call me immediately. Got it?" Everyone nodded, before pulling their hoods up over their faces and heading out into the rain._

* * *

_"Boys, found anything?" Jeff's voice came through the walkie-talkies. The rain was gradually slowing but they were still all rather wet, even with their coats on._

_"Nothing."__ Scott answered, exhausted. "Dad, we've been out here for over an hour, I think there is only two possibilities of what's happened." Jeff's silence urged Scott to continue. "One, John is hiding from us and doesn't want to be found, or two, he can't hear us for whatever reason."_

_"I know. Just keep looking."_

* * *

_"Guys, what colour shirt was John wearing this morning?" Virgil asked everyone through the walkie-talkie._

_"Blue, I think." Gordon answered_

_"That's odd, because I thought I just saw something up on the hill, and it looked blue."_

_"You and Scott check it out. Tell us if you find anything" A few minutes later, Virgil's voice was heard again._

_"Dad, I've found a torn piece of fabric caught between two rocks, it could be off a shirt sleeve or something…"_

_"Search the area. We'll be right there." Jeff said, finally having some good news._

_Meanwhile, the rain and the family's voices had brought John back to consciousness again. He didn't think he could get up, but he did try to get their attention._

_"Scott, Virgil, anyone.__ I'm down here." he called out as loudly as he could, but the rain drowned it out mostly._

_"Virgil, is that you?" Scott called. He moved around the rocks to where the sound was coming from, and quickly ran over when he saw John lying there._

_"John, are you alright? Can you walk?" Scott asked, John nodded weakly, though he knew he wasn't. Scott could see that he was soaked through. "Dad, I've found him. We're on our way down." He almost shouted into the walkie-talkie. There were several sighs of relief from the other end. He turned back to John, who was trying to pull himself up. "Come on, let's get back. Everyone's been really worried."_

_"I'm sorry I ran off and…" John started, and they slowly climbed down again_

_"No, we're the ones who should be sorry. We shouldn't have shouted at you like that." Scott apologised "Can you forgive us?"_

_"I already have."_

_– End flashback –_

"Was John alright?" Brains asked once Scott had finished

"Yeah, he was lucky. Mild concussion, sprained ankle, a few bruises and a touch of hypothermia." Alan said, "But it was a while before he was back to normal."

"I just wish everything could have a happy ending this time too." Gordon muttered quietly

"Don't we all. Talking of that, how much time have we got left, Brains, before…?" Scott trailed off.

"Just under an hour, Scott. But what do we do then?"

* * *

"Considering the state of this place, I think I got off rather lightly" John murmured, while putting a bandage around the cut on his forehead and not really noticing that he was actually talking out loud. He had grabbed a crutch from the store room, and although it wasn't going to be easy to get around, it was better than nothing. "I don't know if it's just me, but it's really beginning to get cold in here." he threw a jacket around his shoulders and limped back towards the secondary control room. "Environmental control is the first thing I'll check."

* * *

"I've been out for nearly 4 days!?" John exclaimed, comparing the now useless watch on his wrist to the computer's chronometer. "I don't believe it!" He slowly tried to calm himself down and figure out what to do next. He keyed the computer for a systems check to see how bad the damage really was.

"Right, the computers in this control room are still completely operational" John said quickly "But the main antenna's been smashed and the antenna for transmissions down to base is badly damaged." He then noticed what he had actually been looking for, and paled even more. "An overload in the environmental systems. No wonder it's getting so cold in here."

* * *

A few minutes later

"This doesn't look good." John muttered to himself, looking at the environmental control panel, "I don't see how I can stop the overload, but if I don't, it could cause a chain reaction and blow the entire station…"

He just sat there, staring at the console, trying not to think of how much time he had, when a solution came to him. As he thought it over, he got more and more certain. "It's risky, but it might just work."

* * *

"Computer, activate audio readout." John said loudly into the computer's microphone "I need to know the temperature in the environmental control circuits."

"Acknowledged" replied a very mechanised voice "Temperature at 40 degrees and rising"

"Right, I'd better get working." He muttered. For the next four and half hours, he worked to try to stabilise the overload, eventually having to stop when he was so cold that he couldn't feel his fingers any more. "This…isn't going to work. I've slowed it down considerably, but the circuits are just too damaged." He complained finally. "What do I do now?"

* * *

"Tin Tin, have you seen dad?" Virgil asked, almost bumping into her in the corridor

"No, I've only just come in." Tin Tin replied. "Maybe you should try to get some sleep, Virgil. You'll get nowhere if you wear yourself out like this. I'm sure John wouldn't have wanted that."

"Well now we'll never know what he wanted!" Virgil snapped, before looking down at the floor "Sorry. I guess you're right, but I want to see how dad's doing first. I haven't seen him since…" he trailed off

"I'll come with you. None of you should have to deal with this alone." The two of them headed back the way Tin Tin had come from and stopped at Jeff's study door. Virgil knocked, and knocked again when there was no answer.

"Dad? You in there?" Virgil called through the door, but still no reply. Just as he was reaching for the door handle, Scott walked from the other end of the hallway. Virgil waited until Scott had reached them before going into the room.

Whatever the three of them had been expecting, it wasn't what they found. Jeff was sitting slumped over his desk, asleep, with several empty whisky bottles lying around him. From his breath, they could tell that he was definitely drunk.

"He is going to have such a hangover when he wakes up" Scott said quietly. "Come on, let's get him to bed." With a lot of shuffling, and Tin Tin holding the doors open for them, Scott and Virgil soon managed to get Jeff into his bed. They stiffly said goodnight to each other, before heading to their own rooms, even though they knew they probably wouldn't be able to sleep.

Scott paused at his own bedroom door once he was sure the others couldn't see him, before carrying on down the hallway to a different room. He entered hesitantly and quietly shut the door behind him.

* * *

"Of course! Why hadn't I thought of that before?" John exclaimed, almost jumping up as he knew how to solve the problem. "I'll have to start now, or I may not be around to wake up in the morning." John hobbled into the control room on the crutch and pulled open the panel of the environmental controls once more.

* * *

"Is everything arranged? We can't afford any more delays." The 'Master' demanded, taking the pad of paper out of Braddick's hand.

"Yes. Everything is going just as planned. In four days, you will have what you want."

"Good. That fool of a reporter. Does she have any idea what she is being used for?" he asked smugly

"I don't think so. She admires International Rescue as much as anyone else. She'd never even think of betraying them." the smaller man let out a silent sigh of relief as the 'Master' nodded.

"Go back out and make sure the trap is set. Nothing can go wrong this time." As the smaller man disappeared from sight, the 'Master' got up, smiling. "You will be mine, International Rescue. By the end of the week, all your secrets will be mine!"

* * *

"Finally, I've done it! And at 2 o'clock in the morning too. Now, to go get some sleep."

TBC…

A/N

There – I'm not always nasty, it's just that cliff hangers are so much fun to write. By the way, chapter 8 is going to be called 'Ashes to Ashes…', so be ready for some very unhappy Tracy's!

So that no one gets confused, I will give a little explanation about some of the story.

Brains found out about the overload through the information he already had from his link to Thunderbird 5. As he then lost the link – when the picture fizzed out, he has no way of knowing if the explosion actually happened or not. This means that everyone thinks that it did happen and that John is dead.


	8. Chapter 8 The Family Left Behind

Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

Accidents

Chapter 8 – The family left behind

"Hi dad. How's the hangover?" Virgil asked playfully, trying not to laugh at the look on Jeff's face.

"If I was feeling any better you probably would get a smack for that." Jeff said groggily, sitting down on the sofa.

"Come on dad. I know this time has got to be hard for you, for all of us, but John wouldn't want us to just sit around moping." A smile came to Virgil's face, "Besides, you haven't smacked any of us in years."

"I haven't got this drunk in years either Virgil, so you better be careful." Virgil would have replied, but was stopped by Gordon from the doorway

"Tin Tin and I are going down on the monorail to see how the repairs are coming along. Want to come with us?" Gordon asked

"We'll be right there Gordon" Jeff said quickly "Go and see if Scott wants to come too."

"I already did. He wasn't in his room."

"Well, if he wants to, I'm sure he'll find us. Let's go."

* * *

"Well Alan, how's it going?" Virgil asked as soon as they could see Alan, half-hidden inside Thunderbird 3's engines. When he pulled himself out, they could see that he had already been working for some time. He was filthy.

"It's going to be tight. Hopefully, we should have it all completed by the time the new parts arrive. After that, it shouldn't be long at all."

"Any news about those parts? When should they be here?" Jeff almost demanded.

"Brains has been at them to hurry it up, but we can't tell them who we are, so it's still another 4 days."

"Want any help down there? Sitting around doing nothing just makes me feel worse." Gordon asked, climbing down the ladder before Alan had answered him

"All right, but you might get rather dirty. Just look at me"

"Who cares, at least gives me another excuse to jump in the pool later." Alan laughed.

"Fine. Grab the toolbox and climb in."

* * *

"Where the heck has he got to? Haven't seen him all morning" Virgil muttered, before turning on the comlink in his watch. "Alan, have you seen Scott today?"

"Ouch! Bad timing Virgil. And no, I haven't seen him." Alan snapped, then turned off the comlink.

"Helpful. I'll go back to his room, see if he left any clue as to where he was going" Virgil walked back into the house towards the bedrooms

* * *

"This bed hasn't even been slept in. Where was he all last night?!" Virgil exclaimed "I know I heard him come in after we helped dad, I heard the door close and…hang on, Scott's door is squeaky, but last night it wasn't. He must have gone into a different room!"

Virgil quickly went out into the hallway again and tried to figure out where Scott must have gone. As he looked towards the other brothers' rooms, an idea came to him. _Right, Scott's room is at the end of the hall, and our rooms go down the hall in age order. I know that the door closing came from the right of my room, so Scott must have gone in…_ Virgil found himself standing outside the door to John's room.

"Flip, I wish he hadn't…dad's gonna go nuts when he finds out." Virgil slowly opened the door and walked in

"Scott, what are you doing in here?" Virgil demanded in a voice that sounded a lot like Jeff. Scott looked up blearily. He was sitting on the floor, leaning back against the side of the desk. There was an empty bottle lying on the desk behind him.

"Hi Virg…" Scott said groggily

"You've been drinking too! I don't believe this. I'm gonna go get dad."

"No! Virgil, I can explain…" Scott stammered, struggling to stand up. "Don't get dad."

"Oh, don't worry Scott. He's already going to be mad enough when he finds out where I found you." Virgil had walked almost to the door before a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Virgil…sit down. I'll tell you what…happened" Scott said around hiccups. By this point Scott had managed to pull Virgil partway back into the room.

"No, let go of my arm and I'll get dad. You can tell him about it…"

"NO!" Scott shouted angrily. He pulled Virgil back hard, which caused Scott to stumble and fall back onto the bed and Virgil to hit his head against the bedpost. Virgil slid to the floor, unconscious.

"Virgil, can you hear me? Oh god, I'm sorry. I'll go get help." Scott stuttered quickly, and ran out of the door.

* * *

"Virgil? Can you hear me Virgil?"

_I know that voice. But where from? Where am I? What is going on?_

"Mr Tracy, I think he's coming round." Virgil opened his eyes slightly.

_Ahhh. It's so bright. Where am I? What happened? I was in John's room with Scott. Scott!_

"Hello son, it's good to see you awake." Jeff said once he saw that Virgil was back with them properly.

"How long was I…?" Virgil started, as Tin Tin handed Jeff a glass of water to give him.

"Nearly 16 hours. You got me rather worried at one point, but we're pretty sure you escaped with only a concussion." Tin Tin replied

"16 hours? I… Where's Scott?"

"He's fine. He wanted to be here, but finally decided that he needed some sleep too."

"I keep thinking that I'm dreaming and that soon I'll wake up and everything will be fine, that John will be here too." Virgil muttered sleepily, not noticing the effect the words had on Jeff.

"Don't we all son." Jeff whispered as Virgil fell asleep again

* * *

"Oh damn, what a headache. Maybe going to sleep wasn't such a good idea after all" John murmured as he slowly sat up on the bed "I'm never going to get any repairs done like this."

Before John managed to get up entirely, an alarm went off from the other side of the station. He quickly grabbed the crutch with his right hand.

"God, what now?!"

* * *

"Hi Scott, come in." Virgil said, looking up from his magazine. Tin Tin and Jeff had said that he could leave the medical bay, as long as he took it easy for a while.

"Are you sure? If you want to be alone…" Scott said quickly

"No! Come in. Where have you been all day anyway? I wanted to talk to you about…" Virgil started, but Scott interrupted

"That's what I came for. I wanted to…to apologise about last night." Scott slowly walked into the room and sat down on the bed, careful not to look at Virgil even though they were right next to each other.

"You don't need to, it's…"

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to knock you out like that. I was drunk. I wasn't exactly thinking straight."

"Thanks Scott, but you didn't need to say it. I already knew by the way you've been avoiding me." Virgil looked at Scott as he looked up and clapped him on the shoulder "This time is going to be hard enough on this family. We have to stick together to get through it."

"You're right. Let's go find the others." Scott said, standing up.

"I can probably guess where they'll be."

"Yeah, me too. Gordon will be in the pool and Alan will be in the Thunderbird 3 hanger." Scott continued

"Where else?" Virgil exclaimed "I know it's silly, but I'm not sure if I want to go up there now even once Thunderbird 3 is fixed. I don't want to find him like that." Scott could tell why Virgil was thinking that

"Hey, Virgil, I know how you feel. None of us want him to be dead. But we need to rebuild Thunderbird 5 no matter how we feel. International Rescue has to stay operational."

"Yes, it's what John would want. And I have had an idea that I'd like to suggest to dad." Virgil added. Scott looked at him. "I'll tell you on the way."

"Then start telling."

* * *

"From the look of this place, I think I should start on the circuits for receiving transmissions, as that won't take me as long, then move on to the transmitters themselves." John stated. _But if I receive an emergency call I'm gonna feel terrible that I can't tell anyone._

Three hours later

"Nearly finished, just a few more wires…there" John said as he put down his screwdriver. "Computer, activate radio receiver circuits."

A few seconds later there was a cackle of static and the radio came to life, almost deafening in the comparative silence of the station. It was a huge jumble of words and languages until the computers sorted through them and filtered it out. The station fell almost silent once more.

"Yep, I've fixed it."

* * *

It actually took Scott and Virgil longer than they thought it would to find everybody, as Jeff had apparently gone for a hike around the island to clear his thoughts. Eventually, everybody was in the lounge.

"All right you two, what's this about?" Jeff asked

"Don't look at me, this was Virgil's idea." Scott said. Everybody looked at Virgil.

"Um, I was thinking that…so that the world would know what really happened…um…" Virgil paused, not knowing how to say it. Scott helped him out

"The idea was that some of us could read out an obituary to John on one of the news channels." Scott said blankly "I would be willing to do it, I think it's a brilliant way to remember him."

"Are you serious?!"

* * *

"Right, now that that's done, what now. Everything is just a mess and I doubt I've even got enough spare parts to fix it all" John looked around him quietly, trying to figure out where to start. "I know, I'll try to patch up a link down to base first, and then, hopefully, Brains will be able to help me to get some of the other systems working."

TBC…

A/N - Sorry if I confused you, but as I was writing this I found that the title 'Ashes to Ashes' would fit chapter 9 better than this one, so I changed it. But this chapter still includes some unhappy Tracys!


	9. Chapter 9 Ashes to Ashes

Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

Accidents

Chapter 9 – Ashes to Ashes…

"Heck, this is going to take forever! By the time this link-up is done, I will have already fixed half the rest of the systems on the station!" John exaggerated. "This better be worth it."

* * *

Three days later

"Scott, I know it's difficult, but you'll have to be careful as to what you say. Even now, we still have to stay secret. Perhaps more than ever."

"I know father. I won't give us away. I know that John would have wanted us to carry on rescuing people even if he couldn't be here to help us."

"But dad, do you think this is such a good idea. If anyone finds out who we are talking about they could link it to us."

"Gordon, stop worrying, we'll be careful. I thought that was why you weren't coming with us. To make sure that no one takes advantage of having all of International Rescue in one place." Virgil whined.

"And I agree that he shouldn't go, that we can't leave this base unmanned. But I still have sent Brains down to put the Mole and the Firefly into the pod, just in case." Jeff said quickly, ending the discussion

"OK. See you later guys." Gordon said as they went down in the lifts to Thunderbird 2. "I've still got a bad feeling about this, dad."

"I know. We'll stay on alert."

* * *

"Yes Jeff, what is it?"

"Hi Penny. Is everything arranged?" Jeff asked, getting down to business.

"Yes. NASA has cleared an area for Thunderbird 2 to land and the press are being given strict orders that they are not allowed to get any of the boy's faces on film." Penelope explained calmly

"They'd better keep to it too. When will they be ready for us?"

"About 2 and a half hours. They are taking a long time running security checks on all base personnel."

"Right, we'll leave in about 2 hours then. Bye Penny."

* * *

"International Rescue, it's good to see you again. I just wish it were under better circumstances." Colonel Roberts said as Scott, Virgil and Alan entered the control room. All the personnel on duty has been screened and checked to make sure nothing would go wrong. Hopefully.

"You know, one of our members suggested this morning that we should sue you for all the trouble you've caused, and if secrecy weren't so important we might have done." Scott said jokingly.

"I assure you, we are doing all we can to help. We are following leads to find the saboteur…" Roberts started

"Don't worry, we don't really blame you." Virgil said quickly, then turned to Alan and whispered "I knew Tin Tin's idea wouldn't go down too well."

* * *

"Right, we're on air in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, now." The cameraman said as they started live broadcast. The young red-haired reporter took a deep breath and began

"Good afternoon to all our worldwide viewers. We have been planning this for several days, and the time has finally arrived. I am standing in NASA headquarters along with 3 members of the International Rescue team, who have a very important notice to tell the world. That's enough of me, so I'll hand you over to the pilot of Thunderbird 1."

Scott took the microphone nervously, but got the 'thumbs up' from Virgil and Alan. "Hello viewers" He began. "I know you can't see me, but I'd like you to listen to what I have to say. 8 days ago, sabotage caused a NASA test missile to hit the International Rescue Space Station Thunderbird 5. There was one astronaut aboard at the time. The impact caused a chain reaction in the station's life support systems and…and the operative did not survive." Scott paused, and looked again at Virgil and Alan. Everyone in the room sympathised with what Scott was saying. "Although we cannot reveal his name, you should all know that we were so close that we were almost brothers. He didn't go on many rescues, but he put his very best into everything that he did for our organisation and for the people that we strive to save. We hope that you won't forget him. F.A.B brother, may you always be looking over us."

* * *

"Inter…nation…al…rescue" came a voice through the cackling radio. John looked up suddenly from his repairs, confused. _I must be more tired than I thought. Now I'm hearing things._ John thought bitterly, and tried to concentrate. "Thunder…bird…5…" came the voice again.

"OK, it isn't me. Computer, boost power to the radio receiver." John said as he pulled himself to his feet. He wasn't exactly pleased about a possible emergency call. After a few minutes, the channel cleared and John could easily hear Scott's wavering voice.

"…you won't forget him. F.A.B brother, may you always be looking over us." After Scott finished, John just stood there, stunned, and it was a few moments before he slapped the button to turn off the radio.

"They think I'm dead!" he exclaimed, amazed. "Right, that gives me even more reason to get the damn communications fixed!"

* * *

"You did well Scott. John would have liked it." Virgil whispered to Scott as they moved away from the press.

* * *

"Lindsey, what are we doing here? The real story is over at the Control centre with the International Rescue guys right now." A young man holding a camera complained to the dark blonde reporter he was following. "This building's hardly ever used."

"Exactly. That's why my source set the meeting here. While everyone is concentrating on the Control Tower, there won't be any security over here." Lindsey Acclebourne explained, looking into yet another door off the corridor. "He has to be around here somewhere"

"What has he got for you anyway? Did he tell you that?" the cameraman asked, almost accusingly

"Oh, quit complaining Mark, I know you don't trust him. He's from a very well-to-do family, and I do trust his information." Lindsey said, turning on him.

"And where abouts in the world would this well-to-do family be? I know I don't recognise his accent" Mark demanded, more than a little concerned about her wellbeing.

"Malaysia. His father died a couple of years ago and…" Mark cut her off quickly with a wave of his hand, listening.

"Lindsey, shh. Did you hear that?"

* * *

"Dad, good news. Brains just reported that the spare parts for Thunderbird 3 have arrived. I'm going down to help him now."

"Get to it Gordon. I would like the ship ready to take off by the time Scott and the others get back."

"We'll do our best."

* * *

"International Rescue, wait!" a messenger called breathlessly from behind Scott, Virgil and Alan on their way back to the ship. They stopped and turned around. "We need your help. Emergency services have reported a fire in one of the outbuildings of the base, and there a couple of people trapped. We think it was a bomb…"

He had barely finished when Scott demanded, "Where?"

TBC…

A/N - Well done to zeilfanaat who guessed part of my storyline, but there is still lots to come yet!


	10. Chapter 10 Plans in Motion

Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

Accidents

Chapter 10 – Plans in Motion

"Mark, Mark, can you hear me? Oh, come on, I can't get out of this on my own." He still didn't respond. "Listen, you can't die on me. It shouldn't be you under all that rubble anyway, it should be me. But you pushed me out the way…" Lindsey carried on mumbling to herself, trying to get him to wake up.

After a few minutes she heard sirens outside and made her way to the window, carefully avoiding the unstable sections of the floor. What she saw made her heart lift, and she almost ran back to her cameraman to find the radio.

"This is Lindsey Acclebourne in the Records building. Can anyone hear me?" she called desperately.

Mere seconds later Virgil's voice replied "This is International Rescue. We can hear you Lindsey. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but my cameraman was knocked out by some of the rubble and I can't move him."

"Alright. We need you to tell us where you are. What floor are you on?"

"Um, fourth I think. I can see the control tower out the window."

"OK, we'll be up there as soon as we can. Try not to move around too much."

"That won't be a problem."

* * *

"Do you have a crane on any of the fire engines that can get us up to the fourth floor?" Virgil asked one of the firemen quickly.

"Yes, but it would be suicide, the blaze is so hot. Besides, none of our vehicles can get close enough to the building because of the rubble that has already fallen…" the fireman explained, not wanting the International Rescue people to risk their lives.

"Don't worry, we'll deal with that" Virgil interrupted, before turning to Scott and Alan, taking charge. "Scott, go and get the firefly from Thunderbird 2 and clear the area around the building. Alan and I will get the fire-suits."

"F.A.B" Scott and Alan said together

* * *

"Virgil, I'm on my way back with the firefly. The firemen have been talking to the people inside again, trying to keep them calm. Luckily, the fire hasn't reached their floor yet."

"Just keep the fire under control. We have to stop it reaching them."

"Yeah, but I'd like to know how it started in the first place. With all the security, I'm amazed that anyone could have got through with a bomb."

"We'll figure that out later. Right now, we have to get those people out" Alan said finally.

A few minutes later

"Keep those flames down Scott! They're getting close!" Virgil yelled into his watch as he and Alan went up on the crane on the back of one of the fire engines.

"Look out!"

* * *

"Boy, that was close!" Alan muttered to Virgil as a piece of burning rubble fell very close to the crane they were on. "The fire isn't easing off at all. We have to do something."

"Scott, is there any way to get more out of the firefly?" Virgil asked into his watch desperately, cutting Alan off. They were really beginning to get very hot now, and the crane seemed to be taking an age to get up to the fourth floor.

"Sorry Virgil, but its pushed to the limits already."

"Well, do what you can, and keep dad updated on what's going on. We may need some help on this one."

"F.A.B"

* * *

"Scott to…base. Come in dad…can you hear…me?" Scott's voice came through the crackling radio.

"I can hear you Scott. How is it going?" Jeff replied quickly

"We're having problems…keeping the…flames under control, but…Virgil…and Alan are nearly to…the top. What's going…on with the radio, it…sounds like you're…breaking up." Scott said, obviously having the same problems as Jeff.

"We're not entirely sure. Brains thinks that with Thunderbird 5 out of action, all long-range transmissions are being distorted by the atmosphere and…"

"Alright dad" Scott interrupted politely "I guess that means we…still need to get Thunderbird 3…fixed. We'll help…as soon as we get…back."

"You may not need to. The new parts arrived half an hour ago."

"That's great. I've…got to go, but…I'll keep you posted" Scott's portrait went blank

_I know Brains is a lot smarter than me,_ Jeff thought to himself. _But this still doesn't make any sense. The communications with Penny have been fine, and she is much further away than NASA headquarters…_

* * *

"You got the emergency kits ready Alan?" Virgil asked quickly

"They're right here."

"Good. I want to be in there as short a time as possible. This building looks as if it will collapse any minute now. We jut got in, free the people and get out again."

"I'm right behind you Virgil"

"OK…" Virgil waited as the crane reached the fourth floor window and shuddered to a halt "…Let's go." They carefully pulled away the already cracked glass and clambered into the hallway, looking around.

"Lindsey…Lindsey, if you can hear us please respond." Alan called, listening carefully for a response. After a short pause came…

"Over here"

* * *

"How's it going Gordon?" Brains called up from the engine compartment, where he was fixing in the new parts. "Have we got power yet?"

"Err, hang on…yep, there's power, but the backups are still off."

"OK, I'll work on them next. Can you pass down the micro-laser?"

"Sure" Gordon got up from his seat at the diagnostic screen and climbed down the ladder to where they had put the toolbox so that they could both use it. "Brains, how much longer do you think this will take?" he asked as he passed the laser through the partially blocked opening.

"Including safety checks and diagnostics…about 2 hours."

30 minutes later

"Mr Tracy, we have finished the repairs and are starting to run checks" Brains called into his watch radio. No answer. "Mr Tracy, are you there? Mr Tracy?" There was a small thud from outside the ship in the hanger. "Gordon, is that you?"

After a moment of hesitation, he climbed out of Thunderbird 3, grabbing the toolbox on the way. "Gordon, where are…?" He stopped talking hen a sudden headache hit him, making him grab for the hanger railing to stay upright. "What the…?"

Brains collapsed to the ground, unconscious, just as the hatch closed and sealed behind him.

* * *

"Are you sure that's all you've got on this Daniel Braddick?" The policeman asked quickly, approaching Sergeant Dannir.

"Yes, I'm sorry. He seems to be very good at covering his tracks."

"He's definitely that, we've come up with nothing. It seems that before about 6 months ago, the man simply didn't exist. We're trying to get a visual match on him, but it isn't very likely to help."

"Well, we'll just have to keep trying. Thank you for your help Officer."

"Please do tell us if you come up with anything else. We want to find him for what he's done as much as you do." The policeman said as he walked away. Sergeant Dannir walked out of the police station, annoyed.

"Yeah, but whoever this Braddick actually is, it doesn't seem that we're going to find out any time soon."

* * *

John slammed his hand on the panel in frustration. "I don't understand this!" he exclaimed. "I've fixed it as best I can on my own and the signal is just about getting through, but there's no one answering. I just don't understand."

John looked out through the window at the Earth, lying peacefully in space countless miles below him, trying to figure out what to do next. "I know. I'll try to tap into the base computer system and see what I can find. Maybe they've hit a problem down there too."

He started doing this, grabbing his tool kit and modifying the equipment he already had. Every so often, he painfully remembered why he couldn't use his left arm.

TBC...

A/N – I tried to change the summary to give a warning about what will happen at the beginning of chapter 11, but there wasn't enough space so I'll just have to tell you here instead. You have been warned. If you don't like it, I'm sorry.

PS - I thought I would correct people by saying this - Neither of the bad guys are the Hood!

A/N 2 – I know how this story is going to end now (though there is still a few chapters to go!), and I also have an idea for a sequel if this one is ever finished. You'll have to tell me once it is if you want the sequel or not.


	11. Chapter 11 No Longer in Control

A/N - I'm sorry that it took me ages to update – when I looked it up it was well over a month and a half (Oops!). But I hope you like this chapter, and it's longer than I thought it would be, so that should help. I'll try to finish the next one slightly faster.

Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

Accidents

Chapter 11 – No longer in Control

"Sir, sir!" Sergeant Dannir said loudly as soon as he got into the Control Room. Colonel Roberts looked around in surprise "Sir, something's wrong. Thunderbird 2 is still outside, but the International Rescue people can't be found anywhere. It's as if they've just left."

"Considering how tight they usually are with security, that seems very odd." Colonel Roberts replied, then turned to someone at a control board near him "I want security to have a constant watch over the Thunderbird. No one goes near it, understood."

"Yes sir, I'll tell them."

"Right Sergeant, let's get down there and find them."

* * *

"The plans are going well Master. International Rescue will have no choice but to tell us what we want to know." Braddick said confidently to the man half-hidden in the shadows. "We will soon have all their secrets!" 

"No, I will have their secrets. You won't be around to know them." the 'Master' sneered evilly

"But Master, what have I…?" Braddick cried, desperation creeping into his voice

"You are far too cocky, and that is a liability in this business." The 'Master' leaned forward, the dim light glinting off his dark eyes. "I don't accept liabilities." As he said this, a gunshot echoed from the other side of the room and a tall, thin man walked forward, completely ignoring the body now lying on the floor.

"Well done Agent Zero, it is clear that you are worthy of this job. Now we can get on with the last stage of our plan." The master said

"No, you can get on with your plan Agent X. I have told you that if I or my real Master were controlling you, we would be doing things very differently." Agent Zero threatened, not at all intimidated by the older man.

Agent X swivelled his chair around, effectively turning his back on the other man. Before this, he had been in complete control. Now he wasn't so sure.

* * *

"What happened? Where are we? What is going on here?" Virgil asked groggily, trying to sit up and only just managing it with his hands tied behind him. 

"Calm down Virgil, it won't make any difference" Scott said from his left. Virgil turned to try to see him, but it was too dark. "Let's just try to figure this out. You here too Alan?"

"Yeah, I'm here." Came the youngest Tracy brother's voice "Where the heck are we? I can't see a thing."

"Nor can I. What's the last thing you remember?" Scott asked

"Well, we'd just gotten back from the rescue and we'd taken the reporter and her cameraman over to the ambulance, then…I dunno. I must have blacked out or something." Virgil said quickly

"A similar think with me I think. I was heading down from the control centre in Thunderbird 2 to meet you after putting the firefly away and…it's all a blank. The next thing I knew, I was waking up here, tied up in the dark." Scott replied unhappily

"So someone deliberately knocked us out and brought us here?" Alan asked dumbly. Before Scott or Virgil had the chance to answer him, a door creaked open and a very pleased-sounding voice came to them.

"Well done International Rescue, well done. Now you will tell me everything I want to know."

Scott, Virgil and Alan looked towards what they thought was each other. What the hell was this guy thinking?

* * *

"Right, the computer says that…wait, that doesn't fit. Why would Thunderbird 2 have been launched without Thunderbird 1 if there was a rescue call? There wasn't any sort of power failure, even the television is still on. It's as if they just stopped what they were doing and left. All the equipment seems perfectly operational." John stopped his 'narrative' as a thought came to him. "Why didn't I think of that before!" John gasped, moving as fast as he could to a control panel at the opposite end of the control room. 

"If everything is fixed, that that means…" he muttered as he tried to get any power to the console. "It took Brains months to install this equipment. If this doesn't work, then I'm out of options."

* * *

"Lady Penelope calling International Rescue base, come in Jeff" Penelope called for the second time, but still no answer. Knowing how the family must be feeling right now, especially that they had just had their first rescue call since the 'accident', she had decided to call and see how they were. She had waited until she thought the rescue was over so that she didn't interrupt anything, but it seemed that there was no one at base "Come in Jeff, please." She called again, before turning to Parker. "I don't like it Parker. It's not like Jeff to leave the base so unattended. Something must be wrong." 

"Yes, m'lady, but what should we do now?" Parker asked in his very Cockney accent.

"I'll try to contact the boys, maybe they're still on their way back from the rescue." She turned the communicator back on "Lady Penelope calling Thunderbirds 1 and 2, come in please" again, no answer.

"What now m'lady?"

"Parker, get out the Rolls-Royce. We're going to find out what's going on."

* * *

"You're never going to get away with this. The other members of International Rescue will know what has happened. They will come to get us." Scott said loudly to the short, balding man who had walked in the door. He looked at them with an evil smile that said clearly that things were not going to be that easy, which they could only see because of the light coming from the open doorway. 

"I'm not so sure about that. Some of your friends are probably having a well needed rest right now, and they won't even know you're gone." The man replied

"What do you mean? What have you done to them?" Scott demanded quickly. Both Virgil and Alan knew Scott was better than them when it came to negotiating, so they let him do the talking for them.

"The same thing we did to you. A slow acting knockout drug. It won't wear off for several hours, but we needed you awake. You can't answer our questions if you're unconscious."

"We won't tell you anything."

"Maybe you won't, but I'm sure we can find someone who'll be more…helpful."

* * *

"We interrupt this program to give you an important and slightly disturbing message." A stern, no-nonsense looking reporter said quickly. "A few minutes ago, this message was transmitted to NASA Headquarters, and it seems to be perfectly genuine." 

The reporter signalled to someone off-camera, who must have turned on a recording. The poor quality of the transmission seemed to add to the maliciousness of what the speaker was saying.

"Hello NASA. You won't know me, but rest assured I do know you. I want you to contact the press, and re-transmit this message to the rest of the world." The man's voice stopped and there was a long pause "International Rescue, wherever you are, I have a proposal for you. You will contact me immediately to discuss terms for the release of the 3 members of your organisation that I am holding. I suggest that you think quickly on this, as if I don't hear from you in the next 8 hours, it will be your children that suffer."

The transmission abruptly ended.

"We do not wish to put your organisation in any more danger" the same reporter continued "But if International Rescue can hear me, please contact us as soon as possible to avoid any loss of life. Thank you."

The unexpected 'news bulletin' ended and the original program resumed.

"Parker, get me NASA on the videophone."

"Yes m'lady"

* * *

"International Rescue, that was quick." Colonel Roberts exclaimed as he found out who the woman calling him was working for. 

"I am not willing to risk children's lives in this matter Colonel. Do we know anything about these people?" Penelope got straight down to business.

"Nothing at all I'm afraid. Their transmission was bounced around so much we haven't got a chance of tracing it. All we have is the phone number they gave us to contact them…"

"Which is likely to be untraceable as well. Alright, thank you for the help Colonel. We'll take it from here."

"If it's not too much trouble, could you please keep us informed?"

"I'll do my best. International Rescue out." Penelope cut the transmission, and then turned to the man standing by the door. "This is beginning to look very suspicious Parker. I just wish we knew what was going on at Tracy Island. Why no one's responding."

"It is possible their communications are malfunctioning. They have been temperamental since they can no longer be routed through Thunderbird 5."

"Maybe. But I still think there is more going on here than meets the eye."

"Agreed m'lady"

* * *

"How long do you think it will be before your friends call in?" 

"I don't know. But I do know that they won't be fooled by you for a second. You really do underestimate us." Scott responded calmly. This just seemed to make the other man angrier. _Well, at least we can actually see him properly this time. They finally decided to turn on the lights._

"No, it is you who underestimate me. I can be quite…persuasive when I need to be."

"Then why haven't you got the information you wanted?" Scott asked sarcastically. Agent X did not answer, but simply stormed out of the room and slammed the heavy door.

"They won't give in to his demands, will they?"

"No. They'll get us out of here. But whoever these men are, they will probably have made it as difficult as possible. It might be a while."

"They we'll just have to wait." Virgil said finally. Waiting was all they could do anyhow.

* * *

"Why did you pull me out of there! I might have been able to get the information we wanted!" Agent X practically yelled, venting off steam. 

"Oh, I seriously doubt it. But, anyway, one of your lackeys back there said that International Rescue has just called in. Some posh sounding lady demanding to know if the hostages are alright." Agent Zero was completely unfazed by the other man's anger.

"They've got a woman to call in, huh. This could be easier than I thought." Agent X said, smiling to himself. He did _not_ know what Lady Penelope was really like.

TBC…

A/N 2 - My estimate for how long this story will be is definitely wrong! There are still a few more chapters to come after this.

The warning was about, as you may be able to guess, the shooting of Braddick and that we now have a new bad guy, who likes bossing the other bad guy around. But he isn't the hood either, in case some of you think he is.

I don't think liked me putting that apology up, as I got an email saying it had removed the 'chapter' entirely. Oh well, it wasn't really important.

Replies to reviewers – I thought I'd better thank the people who gave me the ideas, and to everyone else who has remained patient with me. THANK YOU!

scarlettWALES – Nice idea, but this chapter might put a bit of a flaw in that plan. Scott, Virgil and Alan are in no position to go on a rescue. Thanks for the tip, I don't think I'll have much choice.

Peekaboo42 – I will probably have to write some sort of hurt/comfort chapter somewhere in this story, when the family eventually gets back together (and note I did say when, not if), but it will be a little while yet and I don't think I'll be very good at it.

Anyone else who reviewed – thank you very much. I can't believe how much everyone seems to like this story. I have to go and write the next chapter for you.


	12. Chapter 12 Failed Negotiations

Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

Accidents

Chapter 12 – Failed Negotiations

"International Rescue, you didn't waste any time contacting us. Good." Agent X said slyly, very confident.

"I'm in no mood for small talk. I want to speak to the hostages. Are they injured at all?" Lady Penelope replied sharply.

"They're fine, for the moment. I'll let you talk to one of them, if you agree to hear our terms."

"Alright. What is it you want?"

* * *

"Scott, someone's coming" Virgil hissed from by the door. The other two brothers had been trying to untie themselves, but quickly stopped what they were doing at Virgil's warning.

The door swung quickly open and a much younger, more relaxed looking man than before appeared, accompanied by several guards. He motioned to the guards beside him. "Untie them"

"Who are you? What happened to the other guy?" Scott demanded, as one of the guards walked behind each of them and cut the ropes around their hands.

"Agent X is…busy right now, talking to another member of your organisation. They have requested to speak with you."

"Who's he talking to?" Alan asked, hoping it would be someone they wouldn't be able to intimidate too much.

"How would I know?" Agent Zero started sarcastically. "You keep your identities a secret. The only name I was given were the initials L.P."

"Oh, we could have guessed that much. You'll never get anything from her you know. Nerves of steel."

"We have our methods. You, come with me." Agent Zero pointed at Scott, who was already standing. He was pushed rather harder than needed out of the door before it quickly shut once more.

"You've told us the other guy's name, an Agent X. Who are you?" Scott asked as they walked down a darkened passageway

"You can use the name Agent Zero. And it would save us a lot of trouble if you would tell us yours."

"No way Zero. Why would I want to help you?" Agent Zero didn't answer, but they carried on through the hallways in silence. Several minutes later, they arrived at a small room where Agent X was sitting at a radio.

He took off the headset and handed it to Scott. "You have 5 minutes. We'll be listening in."

"Hello L.P."

"Hello TB 1. I'm sorry about the code, but it's necessary. Who is there with you?" Lady Penelope asked, trying to keep both her and Scott's identities secret.

"TB 2 and 3. they caught us on our way back to the ship. Why are you calling, and not base?"

"I can't get through to base. No one's answering."

"Then they weren't kidding."

"What?"

"One of our captors, an Agent X, said that they had managed to infect some of the others with a slow acting knockout drug. I didn't believe him earlier."

"If that's true, then we have a serious breach of security."

"I agree. What do they want from us?"

"They want Thunderbird 1, and all Brains' technical drawings, or else there will be loss of life."

"You can't, no matter what the consequences. It would undermine everything."

"I know, and I've got good reasons. One, we can't get to base, and two, neither of us is capable of flying the Thunderbirds anyway."

"Good point. Do what you can. We'll see what we can do from here."

"F.A.B, TB 1. Good luck."

* * *

"You heard what she said. They're not qualified to fly any of the Thunderbird craft…"

"I don't want your excuses. I want that ship. I have given her 24 hours, or the blood will be on her hands." Agent X threatened darkly. "Take him back to the cell. I don't want them trying anything stupid."

* * *

"Approaching Tracy Island. ETA 2 minutes." The automated announcement made John jump. He had not been concentrating on where the ship was going. _I'm glad this ship has an autopilot, or I never would have got here._

"Computer, remotely open silo doors as soon as we're in range" John said quickly, turning off the autopilot and going to the controls. "Now maybe I can figure out what's going on."

"Silo doors opening" the computer said about a minute later. With difficulty, John managed to land the ship, hopefully without having been detected.

As soon as all the systems were shut down, John made his way to the lounge sofa to carry him through the island and into the house. _I like this bit. I don't have to do anything._

Before the sofa had even stopped, John could tell something was wrong. Jeff Tracy was sat at his desk, slumped forward, apparently asleep. Tin Tin was in a similar position on the sofa on the other side of the room.

"Dad! Wake up! What the hell is going on here!" John tried to wake them up, but was distracted by a woman giving a television news broadcast.

"Three hours have now passed since the kidnapper's ultimatum. Unless International Rescue hands over Thunderbird 1 and the blueprints for all their other technology, the lives of their captured operatives and supposedly hundreds of innocent children will be lost. We all know how much International Rescue depends on secrecy, but there appears to be no other way to avert this potential disaster…"

"This doesn't look good. Everyone on base is unconscious, and some of my brothers are being used as hostages. What am I supposed to do now!"

* * *

"M'lady, surely it would be easier to fly over to Tracy Island rather than go in FAB 2."

"Possibly Parker, but they might need our help. We can be of more assistance in the yacht."

"Of course." Parker turned his attention back to the front view screen and controls "At maximum speed, we should get to Tracy Island in about 3 hours."

"That really will cut down on time for the rescue mission. This is really going to be a tough one Parker."

"Yes, I…hang on. M'lady, that looked like Thunderbird 1 that just flew over us"

"What? How's that possible?" Penelope said quickly, before moving to the radio. "This is FAB 2 calling Thunderbird 1. If you can hear me, please respond. The radio was silent for a few seconds, before…

"Lady Penelope, is that you? Where are you?"

"We are on our way to Tracy Island, but it appears you have beaten us there. We have just seen you fly over us. Who's piloting?"

"You'll never believe me. Activate your view-screen and I'll show you." As soon as the screen came on, John's slightly battered and bruised face appeared.

"John…you're alive. How did you end up in Thunderbird 1?" Penelope asked, slightly lost for words.

"It's a long story, but I'm definitely alive. Maybe we should meet somewhere to discuss what's going on and decide what to do now."

"We could head back to the marina, as we only left it about 20 minutes ago. There should be enough space for you to land there."

"F.A.B. I'll meet you there."

TBC…


	13. Chapter 13 Exchange of Information

A/N – I know FAB 2 wasn't seen much in the series (I can only remember it in 'The Man from MI 5'), but it is in my cross-sections book and I wanted to get it in the story somewhere. I would have had TB 1 land on top of FAB 2, but it wouldn't fit – really annoying.

PS – I have absolutely no idea how long it would take to get from Lady Penelope's mansion or hidden marina to Tracy Island, so please bear with me.

I realise this chapter is rather short, but we're getting near the end of the story now and it's getting more difficult to figure out how to write it.

Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

Accidents

Chapter 13 – Exchange of Information

"It appears that Thunderbird 1 has already arrived m'lady" Parker observed, seeing the Thunderbird 'parked' about 20 metres from the shore.

"I'm not surprised Parker. Dock the boat, get out FAB 1 and we'll meet you in the shack." Penelope walked off the bridge without even waiting for Parker's reply and grabbed a few things from her cabin when she passed. By the time she reached the ramp, Parker had already lowered it and she quickly walked towards Thunderbird 1.

* * *

_When we get out of this, I think I need to have some more sessions in the simulator. That was a rough landing._ John thought as he struggled to get out of the Thunderbird 1 pilot seat. _Why is getting out of this craft always so much harder than getting in?_

"Lady Penelope to John. You alright in there?" Penelope's concerned voice came through the radio.

"I'll be down in a minute. I think you'll understand."

When John eventually did get out of the hatch and over to the 'shack', John had to fight off Penelope trying to treat him with a first-aid kit. Eventually, he gave up and snapped at her.

"Sorry Penelope, but we don't have time for this. We need to find the kidnappers and stop them before it's too late." John said finally, stopping Penelope's attempts

"You won't be much help to them looking like that" Penelope remarked

"We're all they've got. What do we know about what happened?"

* * *

"Oh, this is impossible. We're stuck in here while Lady P and the others are out there trying to save us!" 

"Calm down Scott, you had no way to know this was going to happen."

"We should have known! This looks like it's been planned for months. We should have seen it coming."

* * *

"Right, if I try to link the mobile control unit sensors into Thunderbird 5 then I should…there, let's try it now." John muttered to himself as he fumbled on the mobile control unit. He nodded to Penelope as he said the last line. 

"Agent LP calling Agent X. Come in please." Penelope called into the radio.

"This is Agent X. Have you reconsidered our offer?"

"We propose a trade. We'll give you the schematics to Thunderbirds 3 and 4 if you tell us where the bomb is."

"No deal. You just want us to lose our bargaining chip. Besides, how do we know you'll do as you say?"

"You are holding three of our associates hostage."

"I don't believe you, and I certainly don't trust you. Agent X out." The radio abruptly turned off.

"Did you manage to tap into the satellite?" Penelope asked John when she'd finished.

"Yes. Any transmissions he sends, we'll know what he's saying and where it's going."

"How about tracing them back to the source?"

"Maybe, but not yet. He's doing his best to hide the operation."

"Parker, how is it coming?" Penelope called into her radio

"I've familiarised myself with the controls, but flying her is a different matter entirely."

"I'm sure you'll be fine. You only need to…" Penelope was cut off by a quiet buzzing noise from the mobile control unit. John quickly went back to the controls and tapped into a radio transmission.

"…X to Marcus. Be on your guard. These International Rescue agents are getting a bit too interested in that bomb."

"Yes Agent X. Is everything still going as planned?"

"No change. Agent X out."

John looked to Penelope after a few moments of silence. "We've got them. We know where the bomb is."

TBC…

Ta-da, the rescue can really get started now.

Replies to reviews – I think chapter 12 got a few people rather confused, so I shall try to fill in the blanks, although John will explain it all in the story later.

zeilfanaat – Nice idea, but I don't think it's in very good shape to come back to Earth (and I have no idea where it would be able to land anyway!)

Claudette – You are so close! And it definitely does have to do with the new technology Brains installed. Also, I know Lady Penelope's reaction was subdued, but one, in my story she probably knows John the least out of all the Tracys, and two, she tends to keep what she's feeling inside and not let other people know.

Tinnie – I'm glad you like the story. It took me a while to find out what FAB means too. I think it is just a shortened version of fabulous and just means 'great' or 'OK'. Probably something they said in the 1960's that we no longer use. I hope that helps.

Everyone else who reviewed – THANK YOU! I'm sorry I can't respond to all of you, but I do read them all. Please carry on!

PS - I found that I'm on the Author Alert lists of 17 people! Yippee! If all of these reviewed each time, I really would have a lot of emails (hint hint)


	14. Chapter 14 The Best Laid Plans

A/N - I don't know what everyone thought of the flashback earlier in the story, but I needed something to fill up the time withour giving away what the others were doing, so I came up with this.

I'm sure that you've all got ideas about what could happen now, but I wonder if any of you were expecting this. Read on to find out!

Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

Accidents

Chapter 14 – The Best Laid Plans

"All right, we know where the bomb is. Now we just need to know where they are holding Scott, Virgil and Alan. Are you sure there's no chance of tracing…"

"Not a chance. Its being bounced around so much we wouldn't even be able to tell we were using the right transmission." John interrupted. "But I have got an idea as to how to find them."

"What is the idea?"

* * *

"Scott, sit down will you? You're making me tired just watching you" Virgil snapped at his older brother, stopping him pacing the cell.

"It's just so infuriating! I can't stop thinking about it."

"Then maybe we should find something else to think about…something more entertaining. To keep our minds off it." Alan suggested

"OK…got any ideas?" Scott replied sarcastically

"Oh" There was a long silence, before Virgil started speaking again.

"I was thinking, you know they want the specs to the ships, right?" Scott and Alan nodded. "Well, the last time I actually saw them or any of Brains' technical drawings was…"

"When we were building the ships. I know." Scott continued "I don't even know where he keeps them, and I don't think I want to know. That was a hectic enough time as it is."

"Yeah, we may have had the money, space and time to build the ships, and the numerous support systems that go with them, but we didn't really have enough people with the technical expertise to pull it off." Alan said quickly. "And that's not including the fact that it was rare to have everyone on base at the same time anyway."

"But they were still were some of the best times I can remember. Though I lost count the number of times Gordon got in trouble for trying to pull jokes on people." Virgil laughed slightly as he thought of his joke-loving little brother.

"Like the one with the monorail? Brains told me about it."

"Yes, definitely that one. Dad was angry at him for days after that. Even Brains didn't want to go near him."

_– Start Flashback –_

_Gordon walked quietly into the equipment storage area. He soon spotted John standing by a stack of partially emptied crates that had been delivered that morning._

_"Hi John."_

_"Err, hi Gordon. Why are you all the way down here?" John asked suspiciously_

_"Oh, no reason.__ I just wanted to come and talk if you're not too busy. You look worried about something."_

_"No, but I think I know you pretty well by now. You've got that gleam in your eyes again, like when you're planning something."_

_"Who?__ Me? Why would I do something like that?" Gordon acted hurt._

_"I honestly don't know, but while you're down here, you can make yourself useful. Help me move this." John pointed to a bulky component for one of Thunderbird 3's engines._

_"Where does it need to go?"_

_"Into the monorail.__ There's a whole load of equipment I need to take down to Thunderbird 3 in a minute."_

_"I thought Brains was overseeing the transport of everything down to the hangers."_

_"He is, but there was a problem over in Thunderbird 1's hanger about an hour ago and I said I'd do it."_

_"Err…what sort of…problem?" Gordon asked_

_"Something to do with the supply monorail controls, I think. Brains said there was…" John trailed off as he saw the guilty look on his brother's face. "You did it, didn't you?"_

_"I was bored, and Scott looked like he needed a break. I was trying to find a way to surprise him. I didn't mean to short circuit the controls."_

_"So you came down here to hide and avoid getting caught and left them with even more work to do."_

_"You're not going to tell dad, are you?" Gordon asked, suddenly nervous._

_"No, not this time.__ As long as you apologise to Scott and Brains for the extra work you've caused."_

_"Thanks John."_

_"Now, lets get this down to Thunderbird 3 before it's me dad is angry at."_

_

* * *

Half an hour later, in the monorail, on the way to Thunderbird 3's hanger_

_"I know you said you had a lot to move, but I'm exhausted." Gordon said as he sat down heavily on one of the crates they had just moved. Seats hadn't been put in yet, as they would only get in the way when transporting equipment._

_"We're exhausted all the time now. With both Virgil and Alan away at the moment, and dad having to work hard to keep the whole operation secret, everyone's rather run off their feet."_

_"I just wish I could help more often, but with so much of my time taken up by the World Aquanaut Security Patrol, I really don't…"_

_"We know your time with the WASPs is important to you. I'm sure we'll all have plenty of time once this organisation is up and running to catch up." Gordon was stopped from replying by Brains' voice over John's watch._

_"John, how's it coming?"_

_"All right I think Brains. I got a little help from Gordon to speed it up. We're on out way to Thunderbird 3 with the equipment now."_

_"You're on the monorail?"_

_"Yes…what's up?" John asked at the tone of Brains' voice._

_"Well, that short circuit earlier really messed up the system. It should all be alright to use, but avoid it for a few hours until I can do a full check."_

_"OK. Tell us before you deactivate the system." Brains signed off and most likely went back to his work. Gordon looked at John rather guiltily before quickly changing the subject._

_"I'm glad Brains came up with the idea of these watches. They're much easier than radios."_

_"Yeah, and you shouldn't lose something that's strapped to your wrist!"_

_

* * *

"There, that should do it. Give it a try Brains" Brains hit the controls and the panel in Thunderbird 1 flared to life._

_"Good work Scott. I should get back to the lab and check it from there."_

_"OK, I'll go up to the house and tell dad about the trouble with the monorail. How long do you think it will take?"_

_"A full system check will take about 2 hours, add on however long it takes to fix any problems we find. Hopefully it'll be back up by tomorrow morning."_

_"Right."_

_

* * *

"Gordon, pass up the box of bolts, can you?"_

_"Coming right up" Gordon handed the small metal box to John. "I don't like you doing this, especially when there are only 2 of us here."_

_"The rig's been perfectly well tested, and how else are we supposed to reach the top of Thunderbird 3 if it stands over 200 feet high already. It's not even finished yet." As he said this, John swung back into view. He was suspended about 10 feet above the maintenance railing on a rig fixed into the wall. He was working on the outside of the cockpit section of Thunderbird 3._

_"All right, it's safe, but you wouldn't see me up there."_

_"That's probably why you're an aquanaut not an astronaut Gordon. I don't mind it. It reminds me of Zero G, except more dangerous."_

_"I guess…hey, what is that?"_

_"What?"_

_"That buzzing sound.__ Can't you hear it?"_

_"Oh yeah.__ Give me a hand down and we'll find out what it is." It took about 5 minutes for John to get out of the harness and onto the maintenance deck. By this time the buzz had turned into a high-pitched whine. "It sounds like an overload. Where's it coming from?"_

_"Over here I think…" Gordon moved off to one side, just as there was the sound of a small explosion and all the lights went out. "What the…?"_

_"Brains, what's going on?" John called into his watch._

_"I think it is an overload in the power systems for the hangers, as all my equipment turned off as well. Its probably been building up for hours, but with the computer tied up with the monorail diagnostic, we didn't detect it."_

_"I'm glad I got off the tech rig in time then." John muttered. "We should tell dad what has happened."_

_"I agree. I'll meet you up at the house in a few minutes."_

_"OK Brains."_

_

* * *

"Do we know what caused the overload?" Jeff asked once everyone had got to his office._

_"Not for sure Mr Tracy, but I think it was probably just the strain of it being used so much over the last few weeks. We have been using a lot of power to build and test the Thunderbirds."_

_"I understand that. We'll have to find some way to avoid that in the future. But why wasn't it detected?"_

_"The computer was running a systems check of the monorail controls after the short circuit earlier. I am already working on a way to make sure that diagnostics do not interfere with other computer controls."_

_"All right Brains. But it would be nice to know what caused the short circuit in the first place. It has created a lot of hassle we really could have done without at the moment." Everyone took this as the end of the conversation and left, but Gordon stayed behind._

_"Dad, can I tell you something?" he asked quietly. John heard him and stopped just outside the still open door._

_"Sure Gordon. What is it?"_

_"I, um…I caused the short circuit in the monorail controls." Gordon admitted finally._

_"You what?"_

_– End flashback –_

"Those days weren't easy, but they were always interesting with Gordon around." Virgil remarked. The other brothers sniggered. Before they could start to come up with something else to pass the time, the door opened and Agent X walked in.

"We've got one of your other International Rescue friends for you to talk to now. Good night." As he left, one of his men pushed someone else into the cell and shut the door. Scott, Virgil and Alan looked at the newcomer, amazed.

"Oh no, this _really_ isn't looking good, they've caught you as well. What happened?" Scott asked

"They ambushed our ambush." Penelope replied simply.

TBC…

I was reading through my Thunderbirds books to check something, and found out that they say Alan is the practical joker in the family and not Gordon, but it's my story, so I'm switching them around. On that point, the monorail used in the flashback is shown in my cross-sections book going under ground on Tracy Island. If anyone wants to know, it links the TB1 hanger, Tracy Island powerhouse, laboratories, TB2 pod storage bay, TB3 hanger and the boat pen. I think the monorail is seen in the episode 'Security Hazard'.

The technical details in this chapter (and any other for that matter) are completely made up, so just try to use your imagination a bit. I have no idea if they would suspend someone in a harness to build a ship like TB3, but it would be rather funny to see.


	15. Chapter 15 He's alive!

Chapter 15! Yay! I can't believe how long this story is getting. Hopefully only about 2 more chapters to go… What else can I say…read on!

Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

Accidents

Chapter 15 – He's alive!

"So, what _did_ happen? I can't believe you let yourself get caught." Scott exclaimed after a few moments silence. Lady Penelope looked at him incredulously, before giving in.

"If you have to know…we arranged to give them altered specifications for Thunderbird 3, containing a tracking device, so that we could track them here. Well, I was delivering the plans backed up by several security officers hidden in the area. Apparently, Agent X hid his men around the buildings as well. The plans were destroyed in the fire fight and they jumped me instead."

"It looks like even International Rescue isn't foolproof. What should we do now?"

"I'm just glad no one else got hurt. We have enough with John's…of course, you don't know." Penelope quickly realised what she was saying. The brothers looked at each other.

"Know what?"

"John's alive. He met up with us a few hours ago."

"But…how? That's impossible. Thunderbird 5 was hit badly, and from Brains' diagnostics the life support systems…"

"Listen Scott, I don't know how he survived." She interrupted calmly. "He wouldn't tell me. We had more important things to deal with. But he's smart, he'll figure out something to get us out."

Virgil ignored her change of subject, still shocked. "All this time…I can't believe it. Why didn't he try to call us, tell us he was alive. We certainly needed it."

"You'll have to ask him that, when we get out of this. But give him some time Virgil, he's been through a lot recently."

"I'm not surprised."

* * *

"Colonel, we're picking up a transmission, on a secure frequency." A technician said quickly. The man he was addressing turned around immediately. 

"Who is it?"

"International Rescue sir. They're asking to speak with you."

"Put them on."

"…repeat, this is Thunderbird 1 calling NASA, I request to speak with Colonel Nigel Roberts." John's voice came over the speakers in the large control room.

"This is Roberts. It's good to hear from you. We were beginning to worry."

"We've had a few problems, but I can't talk for long, as you said we're running out of time. Permission to land?"

"Of course. We'll make sure there is room by Thunderbird 2."

"Good. As soon as we're down, one of our operatives will transfer to Thunderbird 2 and both ships will then take off again."

"We understand. I'll have the area cleared of traffic. Is there anything else we can help you with?"

"I don't think so, but keep this frequency clear, just in case."

"All right International Rescue. Good luck."

"Thanks." The transmission cut off. Colonel Roberts turned to the radio officer.

"Clear the area. Have the security around Thunderbird 2 move off as soon as Thunderbird 1 is in sight."

"Yes sir."

* * *

A few moments later, both craft were ready to take off again. 

"Everything looks alright here Parker. Are you ready?"

"Yes John. I'll be waiting at the deserted airstrip we located 10 miles east of the base."

"Right. I'll call you as soon as I'm in position."

* * *

_Oh God, what happened? I feel like I've been hit by a ton of bricks._ He opened his eyes, but didn't go any further as the room started spinning wildly. _Where am I? Oh, right, Thunderbird 3 silo. I've got to figure out what's going on. Find the others._

As Brains sat up, he turned on his watch communicator, but stopped when someone groaned from off to his left. "Gordon, is that you?"

"Yeah. What's going on? I can hardly even see straight." The red-head answered, grabbing the railing to pull himself up, but having to stop as his vision spun crazily.

"Give it a few minutes, it'll wear off. I'm going to call the others. See if everyone is OK."

"Good idea."

* * *

In the lounge, Jeff and Tin Tin were in a similar situation. They both jumped when the radio went off. 

"Yes?"

"My Tracy? I'm glad you're awake."

"Brains, what happened? All I remember is suddenly feeling dizzy…"

"Well, I'm not sure. Gordon and I were out cold too."

"You'd better get up here. This is a serious breach of security, and going by my watch we've been out a long time."

"On our way dad." Gordon put in.

About 5 minutes later, Brains and Gordon walked into the lounge, still looking a bit unsteady.

"Do we know anything?" Gordon asked as he sat down. Jeff cut in before Tin Tin could answer.

"Nothing at all. It is very suspicious. Hang on…what's this?" Jeff held up a folded and slightly crumpled piece of paper. It had obviously fallen off the desk when he had sat up. It was addressed 'The Tracys' in very wobbly handwriting.

"Who can that be from? There's no one else in the house except Kyrano, and we passed him on our up."

Jeff opened the letter and read aloud:

_Dad, and anyone else who is there,_

_If you're reading this then it means you've woken up before I can get back. I'm sorry I couldn't be there, but we had a limited amount of time. You probably don't know what's going on, so I'll explain. When I reached the island, everyone was unconscious. It seemed to be some sort of knockout drug, but I'm not a doctor, so there wasn't much I could do. That's when I heard the ransom demand on the news. No one was answering my calls, so I left in Thunderbird 1 to investigate. I'll be back as soon as I can, but call me whenever._

_Love, John._

_P.S. Thanks for fixing Thunderbird 3. It was about time!_

Jeff's voice trailed off as he saw who it was from. He was just staring at the signature at the bottom of the note. Gordon quietly took the paper from him.

"It looks a bit like his handwriting, but it is very wobbly. But…that's impossible, isn't it!" Gordon looked slightly accusingly at Brains.

"I…I don't really know Gordon, but there is a way to find out." Jeff quickly turned to the radio "Tracy Island calling Thunderbird 1, come in please."

A surprised looking face replaced Scott's picture moments later, but it wasn't who they were hoping it to be. "Mr Tracy, I'm glad to see you are all awake now."

"Parker? What are you doing in Thunderbird 1? Where's John?"

"It is a rather long story Mr Tracy, but as we couldn't get help from Tracy Island, we had to come up with a different plan."

"Parker, is John really alive?" Gordon asked desperately

"Yes he is, but I can't exactly say uninjured. He is in Thunderbird 2, and I'm expecting him to call in any minute."

"What's the plan? What can we do to help from here?"

"John has gone to England to track down and diffuse the bomb, which we believe to be hidden in one of the old underground train tunnels under London. When that threat is gone, I will go and get Scott, Virgil, Alan and Lady Penelope out. The police are standing by to contain the kidnappers on our signal."

"Brains, Tin Tin, do your best to find a map of the London underground tunnels, we may need it." Jeff said to the scientists.

"Yes Mr Tracy." They both quickly left the room

"That should help." Parker said once Jeff turned back to him. "Hang on, someone's calling."

"Thunderbird 2 to Thunderbird 1, come in Parker." John's voice said over the speakers. Parker quickly hit the reply button, just noticing the very hopeful look on Jeff and Gordon's faces as they recognised the voice too.

"I'm here John, and there's someone else here who would like to speak to you."

"Oh, I was only calling to say I've picked up FAB 1 and am heading off again, but put them on."

"John? Can you hear me son?"

"Dad! Thank god the drugs wore off. I'm sorry I couldn't be there but…"

"We're just glad you're alive, big brother." Gordon teased, just saying what he was thinking.

"Thanks Gordon. And I would have told you earlier, if I could."

"We understand. Go, rescue your brothers, then there'll be time to talk."

"OK dad. Parker, I should be in position to go after the bomb in about 10 minutes. Be ready."

"F.A.B. John"

About 15 minutes later

"OK Brains, I've 'parked' Thunderbird 2 and asked Scotland Yard to keep an eye on it for me. Where do I need to go?"

"From the information you sent me, the bomb appears to be somewhere within the centre of London. There are a number of old underground train lines running in different directions in this area." Brains answered over the radio in FAB 1. John had decided to pick up the Rolls-Royce on his way as it would be much easier to get around London quickly in the car.

"From the way the kidnappers have been talking, I think that they have set it up so that it will be mainly children who are the target. Are there any children's centres or orphanages in that area?"

"There's Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital."

"Knowing what sort of men we're dealing with, that's bound to be it. How do I get there from here?"

"Take a left at the next turning." Brains said quickly, looking at the various maps he had in front of him.

"F.A.B."

TBC…

A/N – I have had a couple of people asking me to explain things that have happened so far (and I'm not surprised, it doesn't all make sense), so I feel I have to say something. I _will_ explain everything eventually, but it'll probably have to wait until everyone is safe and back on Tracy Island, or at least the end of the rescue. I'm sure you'll notice in the story that you reviewers aren't the only ones who don't entirely understand!


	16. Chapter 16 Rescued at last?

Oops, I did it again didn't I? I really am sorry that it took me so long to update, but once the exams are over I'll be on Summer Holidays so I _should_ have plenty of time to write.

Well, here is the next chapter, and I hope you like it. A few reviews might get me to update the next one a bit quicker though…

Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

Accidents

Chapter 16 – Rescued at last?

"Err, Brains, are you sure that I'm going the right way? I thought I just saw a sign for the hospital to turn left."

"I realise that, but the quickest way for you to get to the bomb is by going through one of the old underground stations, and then along the railway tracks."

"What's the nearest station?"

"Russell Square, but it still will be quite a way."

"Then I'm very glad that I put one of the hoverjets in the boot of the car. There's no way I'd make it on foot at the moment."

* * *

"International Rescue! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be out trying to rescue your friends?" One of the workers at the station exclaimed as soon as he saw John. Within moments, a small crowd had gathered around them.

"That's why I'm here, but there's no time to talk. Can you direct me to someone in charge?"

"Of course. This way."

John quickly followed the attendant to the station office and left his hoverjet outside the door. The stationmaster looked up, surprised. John started talking before the man could say anything.

"I need you to listen to me, as there isn't much time. I need to get down onto the old underground train lines. Can you help me?"

"Sure. The only access left is down the back staircase, but I don't think it's been used in years. I can have someone show you."

"Good. Now I need this entire station evacuated and all monotrains diverted from this area. Then, contact the police and have them send a bomb disposal unit down here as quickly as possible."

"Of course, we'll do everything we can to help. But it looks like you need a doctor more than anything else."

"Don't worry about me, there are more important matters right now. I advise you to get going. We may not have much time."

* * *

"I must admit Lady Penelope. You seem far too calm considering the circumstances. Do you know something we don't?"

"What gave you that impression Virgil? I'm 'caught' just as much as you are."

"Yeah, so why don't I believe you."

* * *

"That's right Agent X, nothing yet. If International Rescue were coming, they would've been here by now."

"I'm not so sure Marcus. I don't want to underestimate them." Agent X said over the radio, slightly suspiciously.

"OK, it's your call."

"Make sure you stay on alert. Agent X out."

"Stay on alert, right." Marcus said sarcastically to himself after he turned off the radio. "I don't know what he's so worried about. No one's gonna find us down here. Not even International Rescue are that…" his sentence was abruptly cut off as he was hit by a stun blast and slid to the ground.

10 minutes later

"Right, the bomb has been deactivated and I'm about to hand it over to the bomb squad to take care of. Over to you Parker." Came John's voice over the radio in Thunderbird 1. This was the call that Parker had been waiting for.

"I'm right on it." Parker replied immediately

"Good luck"

* * *

"Guys, is it just me, or do you hear something?" Alan said quietly, breaking the silence between them. Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened

"You're right. It sounds like it could be a ship…"

"Wait…I know those engines. That's Thunderbird 1." Scott interrupted, suddenly looking more hopeful.

At the same time, in the 'control centre'

"Agent X, we're picking up a ship on radar, and it seems to be heading straight for us."

"Well, who is it?" Agent X demanded. Agent Zero stood back, with a sneaking suspicion that everything was about to go wrong. The technician was spared having to answer by the radio.

"Agent X, this is Thunderbird 1. Within minutes, the police will have your compound surrounded. Release my colleagues and this can all be settled without any loss of life." Parker's voice said over the radio.

"No deal International Rescue. If you don't leave the area immediately, I'll set this whole base to explode, killing everyone." Agent X covered the transmitter with his hand and turned to the two guards behind him. "Fetch the prisoners."

"Yes sir." They quickly left the room

"Agent Zero" Agent X looked around, puzzled, when there was no answer. "Where did he go?"

"Err, sir, Thunderbird 1 is still on the line." The technician said nervously

"Cut them off."

* * *

"Someone's coming, sounds like the guards."

"Right, well I'm not just gonna sit here knowing that Thunderbird 1 is outside. Virgil, Alan, go that side. When they open the door, jump them." Scott 'ordered', being fed up with the situation by now. About 10 seconds later, the door opened, and the three brothers sprang into action. The guards didn't even know what hit them. "OK, grab their weapons and keys. We need to get out of here."

* * *

"OK, thanks for the update Parker. It sounds like these guys really are serious. Can we be sure that there is another bomb?"

"I'm afraid not Mr Tracy. And it would be too dangerous to send in the police without knowing for sure it is not a threat."

"I agree. It looks like we're going to have to do as they say for now and hope that Scott and the others have a plan."

* * *

"Sir, Thunderbird 1 has moved off. Its holding position about half a mile from here."

"What about the police?"

"From what we can tell, they're still in position around the base."

"That's not good enough. Open a channel." Agent X waited for the radio to come on again. "International Rescue, until I have confirmation that all the police forces have moved right away from this base and your ship has landed, there's no way I'll make a deal."

"That isn't going to happen, Agent X. You have four of our agents captive, and we are here to ensure their safety."

"Well, you're not doing a very good job of it, as you leave me no choice." He turned to one of the others in the room, but made sure that Parker could still hear him. "Arm the self-destruct."

"Yes sir. Five minutes to self-destruct."

"International Rescue, you have five minutes to do as I say, or this base and everyone in it will be blown sky high."

* * *

"Five minutes to self-destruct." Came the voice over the radio. Scott, Virgil, Alan and Lady Penelope stopped and looked at each other.

"Oh, great, this is all we need. Is there any way we can deactivate the self-destruct?" Alan said before anyone else could speak.

"Well, from what I've seen, this base is too big to be destroyed by only the one bomb. There has to be several around this place." Scott started, but Penelope interrupted him.

"How does that help us?"

"No, Scott's right. If we can get to the main detonator, we could deactivate it and stop any of the bombs going off." Virgil continued. "It's most likely in their control room."

"Let's go"

Around a minute later

"I thought you said it wasn't far to the control room Scott?"

"It wasn't this far. We must have come the wrong way." Scott said, slightly defeated

"We haven't got time to go back. What now?"

"Boys, in here." Penelope called from one of the rooms off the corridor. As the others walked in, they saw one of the bombs, and it was definitely armed.

"Scott, this may not be the master control, but I think I can still stop the other bombs from going off. All except the main one."

"If it's the best we can do then try it, but hurry."

* * *

"One minute to self-destruct, sir" one of the men in the control room said

"Sir, the police forces are moving away. Thunderbird 1 is landing about 2 miles south of us."

"Good. Turn off the self-destruct." Agent X said quickly, looking towards the bomb in the corner of the room. After a few seconds, there was still no change. "I said to turn off the self-destruct."

"I can't sir. The controls aren't responding."

"Let's get out of here."

TBC…


	17. Chapter 17 All the Way Home

This is probably the quickest I've updated any of the chapters, but I got off on a bit of writing spree on Monday, and wrote all of chapter 16 and most of this one as well. Luckily, it only took me a couple of days to finish the chapter off. I realise that it is a bit shorter that the others, but at least we're on the final leg now.

There will one, possibly two more chapters after this one, and it will really depend on how I feel and the response I get as to if I will do a sequel.

Enough of me…enjoy!

Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

Accidents

Chapter 17 – All the way home…

"Oh, hell, what happened?" Scott grumbled as he picked himself off the ground and gave Lady Penelope a hand up "I thought you had deactivated the bombs."

"I had, all except the main one. The shockwave from the blast in the control room was still enough to knock us to the ground."

"I noticed that Virgil. Let's see if we can find an exit we can still use."

* * *

"Parker, what happened?"

"I'm not sure Mr Tracy. I moved Thunderbird 1 away from their base and landed, but it seems that part of the structure was still destroyed in an explosion. Armed police search and rescue teams are beginning to search the compound now."

"Anything from Scott or the others?"

"Not yet Mr Tracy."

"Well, contact us as soon as there is news." The radio went silent for a moment, before another call came through.

"Thunderbird 1, this is Inspector James Lasden. We have four people here who would like to speak to you." A cheerful male voice said, before it switched to Penelope.

"Parker, we're all OK. Could you give us a lift back to base?" Penelope asked, already knowing the answer.

"I'll be right over m'lady." Parker switched the channel back to Tracy Island. "Mr Tracy, the police have found them. I'm heading back to pick them up now."

"F.A.B Parker."

* * *

"Lady Penelope, why wouldn't you tell us that you being caught was all part of the plan. It's not like we could've messed it up from in there."

I wanted to Scott, but I had no way of knowing if they were monitoring us or not. We couldn't afford to give them any warning."

"I guess so, but there's still something I don't understand. I thought you said that the plans containing the tracker were destroyed. How was Parker able to trace the kidnappers back to their base?"

"It was planned beforehand. We had a feeling that they would try to ambush us when I made the exchange, so we set a trap for them. They fell for it completely."

"There was a transmitter hidden on you, so that when they brought you here…"

"Exactly. I swallowed an emergency edible transmitter, programmed to a coded frequency, just before I left Thunderbird 1. There was no way they would pick it up."

"One step ahead, as always."

* * *

"Goodbye, 'master'" Agent Zero said sarcastically, looking out on the remains of the underground base surrounded by police search teams. "It seems your plan wasn't as good as you thought. Either way, you are dead, but my father and I still live on and we _will_ get your secrets International Rescue, no matter what it takes!"

* * *

"For someone who's never flown her before, those were some nice moves Parker. Remind me to teach you some more when we get back." Scott said as Parker climbed down from Thunderbird 1.

"Thank you Scott. Have all the kidnappers been rounded up?"

"We think so. Apparently most of them were caught in the control room blast, including Agent X, but the police are still looking for any other survivors."

"No offence Parker, but where is Thunderbird 2 at the moment. That's who we really need to talk to." Virgil cut in quickly.

"I have not been in contact with John since he found the bomb in London, but I would think he is on his way back by now."

"Thanks."

"Do you think I could 'drive' her this time Parker?"

"Of course Scott, it is your ship. I think I am still more at home driving a car anyway." Scott quickly climbed up into the cockpit, while the other four got into the passenger section, which was rather cramped – Thunderbird 1 was not designed to carry passengers.

Soon after the ship left the ground, the radio came on. "Thunderbird 1 from Thunderbird 2. How's everything going?"

Scott smiled at the familiar voice before answering. "I'd say it's going pretty well. I have got my ship back after all."

"Scott, it's good to hear your voice again." John responded, slightly surprised that it was Scott and not Parker. "Meet you back at base?"

"Yes John, and when we get back, you're gonna have a lot of explaining to do." The smile on Scott's face completely contrasted his serious voice, showing he was joking.

"Wouldn't miss it, big brother, but I think I'm going to have to go down to 'the hospital' first."

"I think I agree, and I can't even see much of you."

"OK, but really, after everything that's happened recently, I don't think I'd mind being stuck in bed for a couple of weeks."

TBC…


	18. Chapter 18 Homecoming Party

Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

A/N - Sorry once again for the wait, but here is the next chapter. I was thinking of finishing the story in chapter 18, but it was too long for 1 chapter.

Hopefully chapter 19 shouldn't take too long for me to update and it _will_ be the last chapter, no matter how long it ends up!

Please review if you like this, and feel free to give me ideas for a sequel if you want one. I'm hoping to get to 100 reviews by the end of the story!

Read and Enjoy!

Accidents

Chapter 18 – Homecoming Party

The lounge of Tracy Island was unusually empty, until Jeff walked in. The quiet just seemed to annoy him, and he walked back out again with a loud sigh, heading towards the bedrooms.

_This is impossible, where is everybody?_ Jeff thought, by now thoroughly confused. _Since we got the news that Scott and John were on their way back they all seem to have disappeared! I can't even find Kyrano, let alone Gordon…_

For the next few minutes, Jeff continued to walk around the house hoping that he had just managed to miss everybody. After a while, he gave up and headed back to the lounge. _This is about the most used room in the house. Someone is bound to show up soon._ He was proved right in less than a minute.

"Gordon, where have you been? I've looked all over the house…"

"Err, sorry dad" the redhead said quickly, but not really sounding all that sorry. "I've actually been trying to find you as well. Do you know what John's favourite food is? It seems stupid that I'm his brother but still don't know."

Jeff relaxed now that he knew it must have been just bad luck that they'd missed each other and thought about what Gordon had said. Strangely, he couldn't think of his son's favourite food either.

"To be honest, I can't help you. I don't remember John ever telling me his favourite food."

"I had a feeling you would say that, Kyrano and Tin Tin said the same thing. I know that he likes Grandma's cakes when we go and visit her, but everyone likes Grandma's cooking." Gordon smiled as he thought of Jeff's mother and how much everyone seemed to eat when they were with her.

"Yes, I'd agree there" Jeff muttered, seeing Gordon's smile. "Why do you want to know anyway?"

"Well…err…I'll tell you in a minute." Gordon stammered, trying to think of a good excuse. He quickly changed the subject. "Can I call Scott? There's something I want to ask him."

"Alright."

"Base to Thunderbird 1, come in Scott." There was a slight pause before Scott answered.

"Scott here. Is that you Gordon? What's up?"

"Nothing Scott. How long before you get back?"

"About 45 minutes." Scott answered, not really knowing why Gordon was asking.

"Can you speed that up at all? Get here sooner."

"I can increase speed if I need to. Why?"

"Well…Tin Tin and I are arranging a bit of a celebration to welcome John back, and we want to make sure that you get back first and…"

"Hey, Gordon, I understand. I'll get back inn time, don't worry. But from the look of it, John isn't exactly in the best shape right now, so keep it in mind."

"OK. See you later Scott." the transmission cut off, and Gordon turned to see a very amused looking Jeff.

"So you're the reason everyone has disappeared on the base. I should have guessed." Gordon looked worried, but Jeff quickly changed that. "I think it's a great idea Gordon, he deserves it. But try not to make it too much of a surprise, he's been through a lot recently."

"I'll do my best dad."

* * *

_Boy, am I glad that Thunderbird 2 has an autopilot to guide it back to base. I don't think I'd manage it otherwise._ John thought to himself, before shaking his head to try to get rid of the thoughts. It only resulted in giving him an even worse headache. _This is why I try to avoid flying…_

"Base to Thunderbird 2, come in John." Jeff's voice came over the radio, pulling John from his thoughts.

"I'm here dad." He replied groggily. Jeff easily picked up on his son's feelings, and he didn't look too well either.

"John, are you alright. If you want, you can land and I'll have Scott meet up with you." Jeff suggested, not wanting John to be at the helm if he wasn't up to it. He knew what John's answer would be even before he said it.

_Damn, I must sound worse than I thought…_ "It's alright dad, I can do it."

"Are you sure? You sound rather terrible."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence dad." John said with a slight laugh. "I'll see you in about an hour." Jeff nodded over the link, and then cut it off. John didn't bother voicing his next thought.

_I hope…_

* * *

"Brains, I'm sure that Gordon has roped you into helping with the surprise for John, but can you come up here for a moment?"

"I'll be right there Mr Tracy."

"Thank you"

Within a couple of minutes, the scientist walked into the lounge. Jeff didn't wait for him to ask what was going on.

"Brains, head up to the control centre and keep track of Thunderbird 2. I want to make sure that it gets back here safely."

"Of course. Is there anything you're particularly worried about?"

"I just called John and he didn't seem entirely with it. I'm not sure he's in a condition to be piloting, but he wouldn't listen to me to land and let Thunderbird 1 meet up with him. I just want to be on the safe side."

"Yes Mr Tracy." Brains looked ready to leave, but thought of something else. "And…John is a very good pilot and can be very determined when he wants to be. I'm sure he'll get back."

"I know Brains. I just want to be safe. We've had quite enough trouble for the moment."

* * *

"25 minutes. You made good time Scott." Gordon remarked as Scott came into the lounge followed by Virgil, Alan, Lady Penelope and Parker. The two brothers looked slightly ruffled, but Penelope was still as calm as ever.

"25 minutes too long if you ask me" Alan grumbled, stretching his arms. "Remind me to tell Brains that we need to install some passenger seating in Thunderbird 1." Virgil nodded, but quickly stopped when Gordon started talking again.

"Come on. I'll show you what we've done so far. Dad keeps telling me not to do too much as he is injured, so I guess the real party will have to wait until everyone has recovered." Gordon said with a grin. Scott and Virgil exchanged 'knowing' glances. They both knew that if Gordon was the one arranging the party, it certainly wouldn't be boring. "Coming Lady Penelope?" Gordon asked more politely when she didn't follow.

"No thank you. There is something I would like to talk to your father about first." Parker started to stay, but she stopped him "You go ahead Parker. I'll meet you in a few minutes."

"Yes m'lady"

* * *

"Mr Tracy, we now have Thunderbird 2 on radar approaching the island. John should be here in about 5 minutes." Brains said over the radio from the control centre

"Right, thanks Brains." Jeff quickly switched channels, looking over to the pile of 'things' that Gordon had left in the lounge. "Did you hear that boys? Thunderbird 2 should be in about 5 minutes."

"We'll be ready dad"

_

* * *

Finally, home at last. This is one trip I'm glad to see the end of. John thought as he turned on the radio. __No use coming in unannounced._ John thought as he turned on the radio. 

"Thunderbird 2 to base"

"We're ready for you John. You have permission to land."

"I thought I might" John muttered to himself "Dad, can you give me a bearing to the runway?"

"I'll switch you over to Brains in the control centre." The screen switched to Brains' face and John repeated his question.

"Right. Bearing…" 3 minutes later, brains could see the giant green craft through the window. "That should do it John. You're directly on course."

"OK. See you all in a minute."

Brains stayed where he was long enough to see Thunderbird 2 safely on the ground before heading to the elevator to get up to the house.

_

* * *

Well, here goes. I've been waiting for this for what seems like a lifetime. John climbed awkwardly into the passenger elevator in Thunderbird 2, not trusting Virgil's pilot chair chute, and set it to go up to the house._

Meanwhile, at the same time…

"Everyone, quiet. Scott, turn out the lights. The elevator is on its way up. He'll be here any moment now."

John quietly walked into the lounge about 30 seconds later, leaning heavily on the crutch he was using, and stopped just inside the doorway when he saw all the lights were off. _I should've guessed they would be planning something…_

"SURPRISE!"

All at once, 10 people jumped out of their hiding places. Scott was behind the door by the light switch. Virgil and Penelope were behind the piano. Jeff was by his desk. Everyone else was around the various sofas in the room. There was a large banner up across the windows, saying 'Welcome Back John' and Virgil started playing some sort of celebration on the piano. Everyone had huge smiles on their faces.

"Welcome home, my son." Jeff said, placing his hand on John's shoulder and making sure that everyone was careful of his injuries. "We've missed you."

"I missed you too. It got rather lonely up on Thunderbird 5."

"I'll bet. You look like you've really been through the wars" Scott said, taking in the crutch in John's right hand and the sling on his left.

"Well, my ship did get hit by a missile you know…I'm just glad to be home"

"I think everyone agrees there" Penelope added quietly, before turning to the boys. "Maybe we should let your brother have some space for now…"

"It's alright…"

"No John. Penny is right. You need medical attention. We can talk later."

"F.A.B. Dad."

TBC…


	19. Chapter 19 Sunset

Disclaimer

Thunderbirds and all the characters etc. belong to Gerry Anderson and Working Title films, I'm just borrowing them.

A/N - Duh, duh, duh…! Here we are – the final chapter! (And one of the longest I think too!) I've had great fun writing this story, and I've really appreciated all your input and responses, even if I don't always get round to answering them.

Now, back to the less interesting notes – I apologise if I get any of the medical details in this chapter wrong, as I am not a doctor, and I don't think I'd be a very good one either. I'm just trying to describe what is happening the way I see it.

Enjoy reading the ending of the story, and I just hope that you've had as much fun reading it as I have writing it!

Accidents

Chapter 19 – Sunset

"Looks like you've been busy in here too." John said as he was helped into the medical area in the Tracy house by Scott and Alan. "Who arranged all this anyway?"

"Gordon" Both Scott and Alan said at the same time. John looked between the two of them suspiciously.

"Guys, is that your way of telling me to watch my step, or am I just imagining things?"

"Oh, I don't think even Gordon would play tricks on an invalid." John glared at Scott for calling him that. "He'll just wait until you've recovered and then hit you with twice as many."

"Great"

"Sit down. Dad will go nuts if we let you hurt yourself any more than you already are." Alan said quickly, pushing John gently onto the bed. "Virgil's gone off in Thunderbird 2 to get one of International Rescue's agents who is a trained doctor, but until he gets back you're stuck with us."

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want me to give you some painkillers? I'm afraid this is going to hurt." 

"I'm sure doctor. This headache is bad enough already without using drugs."

"Alright. It's your choice. Are you ready?"

John nodded and looked away from the doctor and towards Scott who was sitting on the other side of the bed holding his hand. Scott had been there the entire time the doctor had been examining his injuries. Jeff was hovering behind the doctor, wanting to be able to do something to help but trying to stay out of the way.

The doctor also nodded and pulled the piece of shrapnel out of John's left forearm as smoothly as possible, causing him to try to muffle a scream and lurch forward. Scott gently pushed his brother back against the headboard, still gripping his hand.

"OK John, its out. You can relax."

"Thank you"

"You don't need to thank me. Just try to get some rest now. I'll be right outside if you need anything."

John nodded and let Scott help him lie down in the bed. Jeff watched the 2 brothers together before following the doctor out the door.

"Doctor, will he be all right?" Jeff asked when they were safely out of earshot.

"He's probably going to need physiotherapy to regain full use of his left hand and I wouldn't advise him trying to get out of bed for the next couple of weeks, but other than that, he should make a full recovery. He's a strong young man Mr Tracy, I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Thanks Dave, for coming out here like this."

"Think nothing of it. Anything for International Rescue."

* * *

"Hello Scott. How's John?" Virgil asked from his position on the sun-bed by the pool. Scott knew he would find his brothers out here. 'There was no better way to try to get away from your worries than a good swim' Gordon would always say. No matter what the reason, they always came out here when they were worried. 

"He's sleeping. I think everything that's happened finally caught up with him."

"I'm not surprised. He's been through a lot the last 2 weeks" Gordon said, pulling himself out of the water and sitting on the edge of the pool to hear what the others were saying.

"I can't believe that it's only been 10 days since the missile hit. It felt like forever." Alan murmured, remembering how long it felt that they had been held captive.

"I know." There was a long pause, where each of the 4 brothers was lost in their own thoughts. Eventually Virgil broke the silence.

"I still can't believe we thought he was dead. He's our brother. Why did we give up on him so quickly?"

"I've been thinking the same thing" Scott started, sitting down on an empty sun-bed. "But we should be thinking about what to do now that he's back."

"I still feel terrible about it though." Alan said, and then started repeating the things that had happened in the previous week. "First the bio-transmitter said he was dead. Well, we can explain that one. His watch was damaged. Then Brains showed us that picture of him just lying there. I know what I thought after that. And then we were told about the system overload and that it could blow up the entire ship!"

"Which is why he'll understand what we thought." Scott said quickly, going over to his youngest brother. "We just have to be there for him."

"Do we know how he survived that anyway? From the way Brains was talking it was rather an impossible scenario."

"No. I haven't had time to ask him that yet."

"That will be one very interesting conversation I think."

"Oh yeah, definitely."

About a week later:

"Feeling any better?" Virgil asked, bringing in two trays of lunch and setting them down on the table. "I thought I would have lunch with you. Keep you company."

"Thanks Virgil. I appreciate it. And yes, I am feeling better. Headache's finally gone."

"Good." Virgil sat down in the chair by the bed and handed John the tray. He took it awkwardly in his right hand, his left still in a sling by his side. "I don't want you trying anything though. The doctor said you should stay in bed for at least another week."

"I know. I'm not going anywhere. Wouldn't mind a book to read. Gets rather boring stuck in here."

"I'll see what I can do."

"What's everyone else doing at the moment?"

"Well, I think Alan and Brains were planning to go up to Thunderbird 5 to see what repairs are needed. Don't worry…" he added, seeing John's face. "There will still be plenty for you to do once you're up and about. Brains said he thinks it is going to take at least a month to sort everything out. I'm not sure what the others are doing. I haven't seen Scott or Gordon all morning."

"Oh, they're around somewhere. But there is one thing I don't understand."

"What's that?"

"No one's asked me to explain anything yet. Scott let it slip that he wanted to ask when we were on our way back in the Thunderbirds."

"We were waiting until you were ready, but if you want to tell me then…"

"Alright. Where do you want me to start?"

"Brains managed to tap into Thunderbird 5's computer system briefly, but it showed an overload in the environmental system. It was saying that it would blow the ship within about 3 hours. How did you stop it?"

"I didn't. It took me over 4 hours before I realised there was nothing I could do to stop the overload. I could only slow it down."

"Then how…?"

"I jettisoned the entire control system into space. It wasn't very comfortable, but it didn't blow up either."

"We had no way to know."

"I know you didn't. I heard Scott's message over the radio."

"You did? Were you…angry at us for giving up on you like that?"

"Of course not! I know it was hard on you too. It just made me even more determined to get the communication system fixed."

"Then I'm guessing you used Thunderbird 3 to get back down to earth?" Virgil suggested

"Yes. I used the remote piloting system that Brains put in a while back to get Thunderbird 3 into space once I found out it had been fixed. Then when I got to Tracy Island everyone was unconscious and I heard the ransom message on the television. I left the note for dad and then flew Thunderbird 1 over to NASA as fast as I could. I bumped into Lady Penelope and Parker in FAB 2 on the way and the rest you know."

"And to think that was all done by a dead man. Strange really"

"Hey, don't blame it all on me! It wasn't my fault you all jumped to the _wrong_ conclusion."

"And I'm certainly glad we _were_ wrong. None of us wanted to think you were dead." Scott said from the doorway, having overheard the end of their conversation.

"Hi Scott."

"Hi guys. John, I just came to tell you that Thunderbird 3 is ready for launch. Alan asked if there was anything you wanted him to check out."

"I can't think of anything, but tell them to wear warm clothing. The environmental systems have been offline for a long time, so it'll be pretty cold by now."

"I'll make sure I tell them"

"Thanks"

Another two weeks later:

"Dad, have you seen John?"

"No I haven't Gordon. Since he was allowed out of bed he's been doing his best to stay out."

"I noticed. How many places can there be around here to hide in a wheelchair?"

"Probably a lot more than we think. Don't worry, he's around here somewhere."

"I just hope he hasn't tried to ditch the wheelchair and go off on his own. Gordon muttered, clearly not intending for Jeff to hear him."

"Gordon, I know he didn't like the idea of using the wheelchair, but he wouldn't go that far."

"OK. I'll go and have another look around. Maybe I just missed him."

* * *

"John, what are you doing in Brains' lab?" Scott asked, surprised. Seeing John bent over a computer screen from his wheelchair, absolutely surrounded by far too technical-looking stuff wasn't what he was expecting to find. _Then again, it is John. He's always been a bit of a workaholic. Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised._

"Oh, hello Scott. I'm just going over some of the information that Alan and Brains sent down this morning from Thunderbird 5. It's still going to take us several weeks to get her operational again."

"I thought dad told you take it easy, and I don't think that includes going through tons of technical readouts."

"Dad told me not to do anything stressful, and I'm not. I'm still in this thing aren't I? Much as I don't want to be…" the last bit was barely a whisper, but Scott still just about heard the frustration behind the words.

"Hey, brother, you know it is for your own good…"

"Yeah, I know. It's just so damn frustrating! I don't like just having to sit here and not be able to do anything."

"Well, what do you want to do? You know we'll do our best to help you."

"Err, OK, there is something, but…hang on" his attention was pulled back to the computer he had been working at. "What's this?"

"What?"

"An image has been stored in the files. These folders are mainly just system diagnostics. Maybe it was saved in the wrong place."

"Open it up."

John's hands moved over the keyboard, having to go more slowly than usual as his left hand was still a bit shaky. A very familiar picture of the Thunderbird 5 consoles appeared on the screen.

"Ah, that." Scott gasped. John just looked at him, puzzled.

"When did you get this?" he asked, staring at the blue figure on the screen that was obviously him.

Scott sighed, but then started to explain. "Almost immediately after the missile hit, dad told Brains to try and get a visual from inside Thunderbird 5. The link-up burned out after about a second. That's all we got."

"I'm sorry."

"For what? None of this was your fault. You did it to save lives."

"I'm still sorry that I put you through all that…"

"No, you did your best, and we understand. More than that, we're proud of you." Scott quickly pulled John into a large hug, doing his best to be careful of his injuries. John's voice was muffled as he answered.

"Thanks Scott"

Scott pulled back, before trying to lighten the mood. "Now, back to what we were talking about a minute ago. What do you want to do?"

"I know where I'd like to go, but I know that I'd never be able to get up there."

"Where?"

"A place up in the rocks that I used to go to…to think, to be alone. There is a beautiful view of the shoreline, and I always found it really relaxing, but it's a long climb up. I'd never make it in this wheelchair."

"If that's where you want to go, then come on, let's go. Virgil, Gordon and I will help you. After all, what is family for?"

* * *

"So this is where you always used to disappear off to when we were younger. It was worth the climb just for the view." Gordon said quietly, looking out over the ocean. It hadn't taken Scott much persuading to get the other 2 brothers to come. 

"I know. It's wonderful. But the climb back down won't be."

"Don't think about that. Let's stay up here and enjoy the sunset. It's a pity that Alan's not here with us so we can all be together."

"Yeah, and later we can try to nag dad to get out the jet and land it up here so we don't have to climb down again."

"I'd like to hear you try to do that!"

THE END!

I'm still thinking about maybe doing a sequel, but even if I do, it'll probably be quite a while before I start it. Any ideas you have are greatly appreciated, and I will try to use them!


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